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Mortgage Approvals Reach 23 Month High
Mortgage approvals reached their highest level for almost two years in November as conditions for lending were loosened.
According to new figures from the e.serv mortgage monitor, the average deposit slipped back to 38 per cent, the lowest seen since October 2007.
This compares to 40 per cent in October and 42 per cent in November 2010, and marks the loosest lending conditions which have been seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The chartered surveyors attributed this increase to a boost in lending for first time buyers and buy-to-let property investors.
Overall, approvals rose from 52,743 in October to 54,658 in November, marking a 15 percent increase on November 2010.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, said: "For the last few months, the banks have been focusing their lending on specific groups, particularly buy-to-let investors, but this is the first time they appear to have increased lending to first time buyers in any notable sort of volume."
Statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders also reported a boost in buy-to-let lending during the third quarter of the year, with a 39 per cent increase on the same period in 2010.
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Article date: 12/13/2011 12:00:00 AM