Mortgage approvals in the UK rose slightly in March, as income restriction affected the residential market’s recovery
According to the Bank of England, mortgage approvals for home purchases rose to 47,557 in March, compared to 46,708 in February, while net lending increased to 400 million pounds (US$660 million), nearly 50 percent of the total average over the previous six months.
UK’s data for home prices have been showing mixed figures in the recent months, with the Nationwide Building Society noting that the value slipped 0.2 percent in April. Meanwhile, Hometrack Ltd reported that 10 months of price decline had stalled. The central bank may hold its interest rates at a record level on Friday, as policymakers set aside inflation concerns to help boost economic recovery through a fiscal squeeze by the government.
George Buckley, an economist at Deutsche Bank AG in London, said “the housing reports are very soft and approvals are still down from the peak of the boom. The data supports (that) the central bank (is) doing nothing tomorrow on policy.”
Figures from the Bank of England showed that gross mortgage lending stood at 11.1 billion pounds in March and net consumer credit edged up 0.1 billion pounds, less than the 0.8 billion pound increase seen in February.
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