U.K. mortgage approvals increased in October and gross mortgage lending reached a seven year high, the British Bankers’ Association said Wednesday.
The number of mortgages approved in October rose to 45,437 from 44,825 in September. It was also below the expected level of 44,500.
The total number of approvals including re-mortgage came in at 77,951 versus 77,739 a month ago.
Likewise, the value of mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to GBP 8.1 billion from GBP 7.9 billion.
“These statistics show that housing market activity remained strong in October,” Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA, said.
Gross mortgage borrowing in October was GBP 12.9 billion, 26 percent higher than a year ago and the highest since August 2008.
After reporting slower demand in the second half of 2014, the overall mortgage stock was 1.9 percent higher than a year ago, BBA said.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com