Mortgage approvals 'steady in Feb'

27-Mar-2008

Mortgage approvals inched up to 43,870 in February from 43,732 the previous month, which may be a good sign for first-time buyers.

However, they were still down by around a third compared to a year ago, according to new statistics.

The British Bankers Association (BAA) found that underlying net mortgage lending increased £5.6 billion, meaning it has picked up from a downwardly revised £5 billion pound increase in January.

Furthermore, the figure for February was higher than the previous six-month average increase of £5.1 billion.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for the BAA said: "House purchase approvals have been fairly constant and low for the last five months and despite ticking up slightly in February loans for equity withdrawal have continued to trend downwards."

Bank of England governor Mervyn King recently told lawmakers that he would like to see a period of stability in house prices, adding that he would not be surprised if property prices continued to rise in the coming years.

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