Mortgage approval rate 'on decline'

Date:Tuesday 30th March 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

The number of mortgages that were approved in February was down for the second consecutive month, according to the newest figures from the Bank of England.

Statistics from the institution showed that there were 47,094 applications for mortgage loans approved in February 2010, which was the lowest figure seen since May the previous year.

In January of this year, 48,099 products had been approved, which was itself down on the previous six months average of 55,130.

Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said that the trend is likely to be down due to the number of people who pushed through their mortgages at the end of last year in order to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday.

In addition to this, he stated that the bad weather at the start of the year also put people off going house hunting.

One thing that may help to buck this trend is the number of new loans that are coming on to the market, such as the two-year fixed-rate from Yorkshire Building Society.