Mortgage approvals fell in March to levels not seen since the property slump of the early 1990s, Bank of England figures revealed yesterday. Financail Times, The Times, The Independent.
The data came as a leading economist warned that the UK housing market was 'eerily similar' to the US, which is experiencing the highest default rates since the 1930s.
Approvals on mortgages for new home purchases fell by 11% to 64,000 in March, close to levels not seen since the fourth quarter of 1992, when the UK was in the throes of a property recession. Lending for new house purchases is now at levels not seen since house prices were falling in real terms at double-digit annualised rates.
The number of remortgages also fell in March to 98,000. But the total sum extended by lenders for new house purchases in March was £9.3bn – far less than the £13.6bn lent for remortgages. Typically, new house purchases far exceed borrowing for refinancings.
The Bank noted that both new mortgage and remortgage lending were below their six-month averages.
