Mortgage approvals in July 'near record low'
Tuesday, 26th August 2008

Approvals for mortgages in the UK have remained near a "record low" in July, a news agency has reported.

Reuters revealed figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) which showed that the amount of mortgages given the go-ahead by lenders totalled 22,448 in July, 65 per cent lower than 12 months ago and only "fractionally higher" than June's low of 22,369.

The BBA also found that total mortgage lending in July stayed at £4.3 billion, unchanged from the previous month.

Statistics director for the BBA David Dooks said that figures levelling off in July was a change from the drop of up to two-thirds over the last year.

He continued: "It would, however, be premature to think that the housing market will now start to recover, because overall approval activity continues to be very low."

Earlier this month, the Daily Telegraph reported the BBA's recommendation for customers to shop around for rates that match their "individual needs".