Mortgage approval levels still very low say authorities
November 4, 2008
There is further doom and gloom for consumers in the UK following a recent report from the British Banker’s Association, which claims that mortgage lending approvals in the UK are still way down compared to last year even though there was a slight rise in lending levels for the month of September. Any ray of hope from the slightly higher September figures was dampened following reports that the number of mortgage approvals compared to September of last year was down by around 57%.
In terms of value net lending is still down compared to the previous six months, which came to £4.1 billion, and is significantly lower to the figure for this time last year, which came in at £6.4 billion. There was a 10% rise in the number of new mortgage approvals this September compared to August of this year, with a total of 23,422 approvals. Net mortgage lending rose to £3.6 billion. This was up from £2.1 billion in August, which was the lowest figure since 2001.
Much of the slowdown in August was attributed to the fact that the government was undecided on whether or not to suspend stamp duty for people buying a property worth more than the existing exemption level of £125,000. Many wanted to wait and see if they could save money on stamp duty, and therefore property sales slumped further and mortgage applications ground to a halt. The government eventually did suspend stamp duty on properties worth up to £175,000, increasing the exemption threshold by £50,000.
The number of people that decided to remortgage and switch to another deal also increased for the month of September compared to August, with 51,523 homeowners switching mortgages in September compared to 47,260 in August.
- Mortgage approvals increased at the end of last year According to recent figures the end of last year saw the level of mortgage approvals in the UK increase, although approval levels were still far lower than they were the previous year. Figures have been
- Mortgage approval levels hit fresh low According to recent figures mortgage approval levels for new home purchases in June fell to a fresh low, exceeding the poor approval levels that were seen in May. The report showed that compared to May
- Mortgage approval levels plummet in one year Over recent months, since the onset of the global credit crunch, the number of mortgage approvals in the UK has been falling. Mortgage approval levels have been affected by a number of factors, and this
- Will mortgage approval levels recover? With the ongoing global credit crunch causing huge problems for mortgage lenders when it comes to raising finance to fund their mortgage lending operations, mortgage approval levels have been taking a hit for some time.
- Rise in loan costs due to PPI crackdown According to a recent report the ongoing crackdown in relation to Payment Protection Insurance, or PPI, on loans has resulted in an increase in costs and interest rates for those taking out personal loans. Officials
Comments
Got something to say?