Thursday 8th November 2007
New figures from the Bank of England show a 20 per cent decrease in mortgage approvals since September 2006.
Statistics published last year showed that the number of approvals for house purchase stood at 126,000.
But in the latest release from the central bank, mortgage approvals stand at 102,000 - down by a fifth over the 12-month period.
The number of approvals is down some 6,000 since August, the figures show.
Meanwhile, the proportion of individuals looking to make use of the increased equity offered by elevated house prices rose over the same period.
"The number of loans approved for house purchase was lower than in August but those for remortgaging and other purposes were higher," the Bank explains.
Some 101,000 loans were taken out for the purpose of remortgaging during the course of the month.
And a further 67,000 households looked to secure loans against their property for other purposes.
However, the 12-month growth in net lending overall remained unchanged at ten per cent.
On a quarterly basis, the publics appetite for borrowing was seen to accelerate, up by 0.1 per cent to 9.6 per cent.
The increase in consumer credit also rose compared with August figures, the Bank asserts.
Some £1.4 billion in new credit card lending was distributed during September, an increase of £300 million over the previous month.
In percentage terms, this equates to a 0.6 per cent growth rate since August and a 5.8 per cent rise in credit over the year, the Bank of England states.
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