Mortgage approvals for December 2011 remained static.
Mortgage lending trends reveal that just under 106,500 mortgage approvals were granted in December 2011 which is only slightly up on the November figure of just under105,000, according to Bank of England.
Gross mortgage lending that was secured on housing was around £13 billion in December which was up £0.7 billion from November and was up £1.1 billion on the six month average figure of £11.9 billion. Mortgage approval numbers for house purchases remained almost unchanged for December and the figure was higher than the six month average.
Number of remortgage approvals increased in December which meant figures remained roughly in line with the six month average of just under 33,000. Approval numbers for mortgages granted for other purposes remained almost unchanged in December at 21,038, which meant it stayed roughly the same as the six month average of 20,728.
Director of e.surv chartered surveyors, Richard Sexton commented on the figures advising that the mortgage market is showing resilience but it is likely more difficult tests will come over the next few months.
He went on to say that the UK economy appears to on the edge of a further recession and believes it likely that lender confidence will take a hit unless there is soon a solution to the eurozone crisis. He added that fears of a second credit crunch may force lenders back into their shells and, as banks come under increasing pressure, an increase in mortgage rates will feed through to borrowers.
