Rics issues response to BBA mortgage lending figures

Date:Thursday 25th June 2009
Author: Max Freedman

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has said that mortgage data released recently by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) shows that the housing market has improved.

According to the BBA figures, mortgage lending last month rose by £2.3 billion compared with April.

Responding to the findings, Rics said they reveal that, in May, the number of mortgages approved for house purchase climbed to its best level since April last year.

It also said that the figures were "broadly consistent" with the rise in buyer enquiries signalled in the monthly Rics housing market survey.

However, the organisation added: "The continuing lack of mortgage finance for first-time buyers allied to a diminishing stock of instructions on estate agents books remain very real issues for the housing market to deal with."

It also said that, while a return to 40,000 mortgage approvals per month is conceivable by the end of the year, this compares with an average of 63,000 in 2005, 57,000 in 2006 and 69,000 in 2007.