New mortgage approvals drop 52%
January 28th, 2009 by Yas
The amount of available new mortgages currently on the house market for first time house buyers that were approved feel in the UK in 2008 by 52%.
The BAA (The British Bankers Association) has claimed that the amount of approvals shot up from 17K in November 2009 to 22K last month. Whilst more positive, this was still down from 47% from December 2007.
The BBA said the December rise did not suggest a real recovery in lending and was “more likely to reflect delayed activity from November”. The banks approved less than half the 2007 number of loans for house purchase, reflecting falling demand from households facing greater economic uncertainty and double-digit falls in house prices over the year, which led to a wait-and-see mentality,” said David Dooks of the BBA.
What recent figures do show is that most people are becoming more cautious about their spending and borrowing as 2008 drew to an end.
David Dooks at the BBA said
“Consumer credit was very weak in December as people reined in their credit card spending, despite early sales and heavy discounting by retailers.
“This consumer caution was also reflected in personal deposits, which rose strongly,” he added.
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