House prices expected to slow after mortgage approval dip
THE MORTGAGE market continued to slow in October, reflecting a wider slump in the housing market.
The number of loan approvals for house purchase was 59,426 in October compared with the average of 63,727 over the previous six months, according to Bank of England figures released yesterday.
Mortgage approvals have dipped in each of the past four months.
Many analysts point to the introduction of the mortgage market review (MMR) – which increases the amount of hoops mortgage borrowers have to jump through – as a reason for the dip in activity.
“With housing market activity appreciably off its early-2014 highs, we suspect house prices will generally rise at a much more sedate rate over the coming months compared with the peak double-digit annual growth rates seen earlier this year,” said economist Howard Archer of market analysts IHS.