John
12-23-2010, 03:07 PM
Mortgage approvals fell to a 20-month low in November and net mortgage lending dropped to its lowest in more than a decade, figures from the British Bankers' Association showed on Thursday, signalling further weakness in the housing market.
The BBA said banks approved 29,991 loans for home purchase last month, down from 30,689 in October and the lowest since March 2009, when Britain was in recession and the housing market was in the doldrums.
Net mortgage lending fell to 1.464 billion pounds in November from 1.719 billion in October -- the slowest rate of growth since August 1999.
Gross lending picked up slightly in November, however, implying that the weak net figure was driven by homeowners paying down more debt. Thursday's figures echo other recent data which suggest the housing market may continue to be soft for some months to come as tight credit and worries about the economic outlook deter people from buying a home. "The BBA data point to the housing market ending 2010 very much on the back foot, where we expect it will remain for much of 2011," said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.
"Housing market activity remains stuck in the doldrums, which seems highly likely to maintain downward pressure on prices. In the near term, the bad weather will hinder housing market activity."
"Critical to the development of house prices over the coming months will be the amount of houses coming on to the market, mortgage availability, and how well the economy and jobs hold up as the fiscal squeeze increasingly kicks in," he added.
Source - Yahoo News.
The BBA said banks approved 29,991 loans for home purchase last month, down from 30,689 in October and the lowest since March 2009, when Britain was in recession and the housing market was in the doldrums.
Net mortgage lending fell to 1.464 billion pounds in November from 1.719 billion in October -- the slowest rate of growth since August 1999.
Gross lending picked up slightly in November, however, implying that the weak net figure was driven by homeowners paying down more debt. Thursday's figures echo other recent data which suggest the housing market may continue to be soft for some months to come as tight credit and worries about the economic outlook deter people from buying a home. "The BBA data point to the housing market ending 2010 very much on the back foot, where we expect it will remain for much of 2011," said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.
"Housing market activity remains stuck in the doldrums, which seems highly likely to maintain downward pressure on prices. In the near term, the bad weather will hinder housing market activity."
"Critical to the development of house prices over the coming months will be the amount of houses coming on to the market, mortgage availability, and how well the economy and jobs hold up as the fiscal squeeze increasingly kicks in," he added.
Source - Yahoo News.