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| UK mortgage approvals bounce back from four-year low in January | UK mortgage approvals bounce back from four-year low in January |
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| The number of mortgage approvals for UK homebuyers recovered from a four-year low in January, according to the latest data from UK Finance. | The number of mortgage approvals for UK homebuyers recovered from a four-year low in January, according to the latest data from UK Finance. |
| The body, which collects data from British high street banks, reported that there were 40,117 approvals for house purchase in the month, following the slump to just 36,085 in December – the lowest since April 2013. | The body, which collects data from British high street banks, reported that there were 40,117 approvals for house purchase in the month, following the slump to just 36,085 in December – the lowest since April 2013. |
| UK Finance said this 11 per cent monthly jump reflected people taking advantage of mortgage deals on offer at the end of last year. | UK Finance said this 11 per cent monthly jump reflected people taking advantage of mortgage deals on offer at the end of last year. |
| The data is likely to settle nerves about the sustainability of the housing market by presenting December’s decline as a blip rather than a trend, possibly reflecting a knee-jerk response from buyers to the Bank of England’s first interest rate rise in a decade in November. | The data is likely to settle nerves about the sustainability of the housing market by presenting December’s decline as a blip rather than a trend, possibly reflecting a knee-jerk response from buyers to the Bank of England’s first interest rate rise in a decade in November. |
| But some analysts said its outlook was still weak, pointing to falls in new buyer enquiries reported by surveyors. | But some analysts said its outlook was still weak, pointing to falls in new buyer enquiries reported by surveyors. |
| The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that the net balance for such enquiries in January was -11 per cent, the tenth month in a row that the reading has been negative. | |
| “We’re reluctant to conclude that January’s bounce back in mortgage approvals means its back to business as usual for the housing market,” said Samuel Tombs of Pantheon. | “We’re reluctant to conclude that January’s bounce back in mortgage approvals means its back to business as usual for the housing market,” said Samuel Tombs of Pantheon. |
| UK Finance also said that consumer credit fell by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in January, while outstanding credit card debt grew by just £4m over the month, down from growth of £86m in December. | UK Finance also said that consumer credit fell by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in January, while outstanding credit card debt grew by just £4m over the month, down from growth of £86m in December. |
| “Higher levels of repayments on credit cards ... is expected at this time of year, as customers pay off their festive spending,” said Eric Leenders of UK Finance. | “Higher levels of repayments on credit cards ... is expected at this time of year, as customers pay off their festive spending,” said Eric Leenders of UK Finance. |
| But the news of a cooling will nevertheless hearten the Bank of England, where regulators have been seeking to dampen unsecured consumer credit growth over the past year amid fears of a lending bubble. | But the news of a cooling will nevertheless hearten the Bank of England, where regulators have been seeking to dampen unsecured consumer credit growth over the past year amid fears of a lending bubble. |