Mortgage Approvals at A 2 Year High

Mortgage lenders approved 42,989 mortgages in April of this year, which may be a sign that the housing market is showing strength in uncertain times.

Banks and building societies in the UK approved a total of 42,989 mortgages during April, which is the highest amount in a single month since February 2017. This is also an increase of 6% from March this year and 11.5% higher than a year earlier. Approved remortgages also increased by 5% between March and April and were 11% higher year-on-year.

Lending Growth Slows

Figures also showed however that the growth of overall net lending slowed from £2.4bn in March to £1.8bn in April, with gross mortgage lending also slowing 1.4% to £20.bn year-on-year. Despite this slowdown in growth, the increase in home purchase approvals is no doubt a positive and could be a result of recent improved consumer purchasing power and employment growth.

You can read more on the increase in mortgage approvals on The Guardian website.