March mortgage lending up after a dip in February
THE number of approvals for UK home loans rose slightly in March after a dip in February and were almost 20 per cent up on the year before, data showed yesterday.
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said net mortgage lending growth had eased as homeowners paid off debt.
The BBA report said the number of loans approved for house purchases rose to 34,905 last month from 33,360 in February and up from 29,212 in March 2009. It said the figures showed the effect of the reversal of a temporary increase in the property tax threshold at the start of this year, which had dented demand for home loans in February, but had now worked its way through.
The BBA said net mortgage lending rose by £2.406bn in March, down from February’s £2.7bn rise.