Mortgage lending grows; BBA says property market is stabilising

Mortgage lending grows; BBA says property market is stabilising

	Published : Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:05 By : Amy Watts Print this Story

LONDON: Mortgage lending grew by 4.3 billion pounds in August, according to the British Bankers Association, and a clear indication perhaps of the stabilising property market. The BBA said the growth is in line with the average -- 4.4 billion pounds -- over the last six months. It was at its weakest in July -- 3.7 billion pounds.

The BBA data is in consonance with details released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showing house prices fell at the slowest pace in 11 months in August, again an indication that the housing market in the country is inching towards stability.

The Building Societies Association too said mortgage approvals increased to 4 billion pounds in August from 3.921 billion in July. These approvals constituted a 7.9 per cent increase compared with last year and the first annual increase since July 2004. The Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that total gross mortgage lending increased to 27.5 billion pounds in August, its highest since July 2004, up 4 per cent from a year ago and the number of housing loans went up to 101,000 from 96,000 in July.

The BBA said credit card lending has fallen by 146 million pounds in August. BBA's director of statistics David Dooks said this is basically on account of consumer caution and ties with the weak retail market scenario.