Mortgage approvals hit 15-year low

Mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped to the lowest level since 1993 during April. According to new data from the Bank of England, some 58,000 home loans were granted by lenders in April. This compares to a figure of 113,000 for the same month last year and is the lowest figure recorded since the Bank began compiling housing market data. The overall value of mortgages approved was £23.8 billion - £2.3 billion below the average lent by mortgage providers in the previous six months.

This highlights very clearly the real problem facing not just the property market but also the wider economy. A collapse in transactions of this magnitude has major implications both for consumer spending and a wide range of ancillary industries.

Lenders are continuing to tighten up on the conditions accompanying new loans making it hard for first-time buyers to take advantage of the modest fall in house prices seen over the part few months.