–Jan Mortgage Approvals for Home Purchase 58,728 vs 55,019 in Dec
London (MNI) – The number of mortgage approvals rose to the highest
level for more than two years in January, a sign that activity in the
housing market is picking up, figures released from the Bank of England
showed Wednesday.
Mortgage approvals rose to 58,728 in January from 55,109 in
December, above the median forecast of 54,000 and the highest since Dec
2009.
Net mortgage lending also posted a monthly rise of Stg1.6 billion
the highest since August 2010, and double the median forecast of Stg0.8
billion.
Recent housing market surveys have found evidence of a pick-up in
housing market activity ahead of the expiry of the Stamp Duty holiday
for first time buyers in March and these figures may well have been
boosted by this effect also.
Net consumer credit bounced back slightly in January, rising Stg0.1
billion on the month, following a fall in December, but was still below
the six month average of Stg0.3 billion.
The broad money data showed M4 ex-IOFCs, a measure designed to
exclude economically irrelevant intra-financial sector transactions,
rose by 1.9% on the month in January and was up 2.9% on the year. this
followed a record monthly fall of 0.7% in December.
Other data showed overseas net purchases of gilts rose Stg9.408
billion in January, having fallen Stg10.663 billion in December. There
has been some concerns that the December fall showed overseas appetite
for gilts waning but these data continue to show a healthy demand.
Overseas Gilt holdings had surged prior to the start of the
second wave of quantitative easing, which began in October and continued
to rise sharply through the first two months of QE2.
–London newsroom: +44 207 862 7491 e-mail: drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$B$$$,M$$BE$,MABDS$]
