The outlook for the UK property market remains positive with the Bank of England reporting a rise in new mortgage approvals during May.
The number of loans approved for house purchases increased to 43,414, up from 43,191 in April and marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise.
However, in value terms net lending for house purchases increased by just £324 million in May, the smallest monthly increase on record.
The news comes alongside latest figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) showing that the value of mortgages approved by the UK’s 53 mutuals fell 35% in May, compared to a year earlier.
The Association’s director general, Adrian Coles, comments: “While the mortgage market appears to have recovered slightly from the start of the year, levels of activity remain depressed.”
Last week, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) presented a similar picture, reporting that while the number of loans approved for house purchases rose to 31,162 in May, BBA members lent an addition £2.3 billion overall.
The figure reflected the weakest monthly rise in net lending since early 2001.
The BBA’s statistics director, David Dooks, commented: “Steady monthly increases since last November have seen the number of loans approved for house purchase recover to levels seen in early 2008, although gross and net mortgage lending show a subdued wider mortgage picture.”
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