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BoE: Minimal lending decline in February
7 April 2008 10:30
The number and value of mortgages approved in February were down on the month before and the recent average, according to new data from the Bank of England (BoE).
February's lending figure of £27.1 billion was down 8.1 per cent on January and by 1.8 per cent on the past six month average, while the 246,000 mortgages granted represented a 2.8 per cent fall from the month before but was roughly in line with recent levels.
Loans for house purchases, meanwhile, showed little change from the month before, but their collective value of £10.2 billion and their volume of 73,000 were down 17.7 per cent and 16.1 per cent respectively on the recent six-month averages.
Yet while remortgaging did not match January's levels, the £14.4 billion lent to existing homeowners was still 12.5 per cent higher than the mean figure for the past six months, while the 111,000 mortgages granted was up by 11 per cent on the recent average.
Commenting on the BoE's findings, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warned that housing market activity is likely to decrease even further over coming months as some lenders close business to new customers and others simply raise their rates.
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