Mortgage approvals down again

The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases was down again in April, new figures have shown.

Bank of England figures for lending to individuals revealed that the number of approved mortgages for house purchases was down to 58,000 at a total value of £8.3 billion.

This was compared to 63,000 at a value of £9 billion in March.

Such figures continue a progressive month-by-month decline in both the value and number of such loans in 2008.

One major reason for this decline may be the increasingly tight credit conditions that have seen deals such as 100 per cent loan-to value mortgages all but eliminated from the market.

Those finding it hard to get a house purchase mortgage may consider the self build method of getting on the housing ladder instead.

Some banks had recently cut mortgage rates but have subsequently raised them due to increases in swap rates.

Following such a move by Abbey last week, Nationwide has followed suit, reports FTAdviser.com.

Divisional director for mortgages at Nationwide Matthew Carter said: "Swap rates have risen significantly in the last few weeks and as a result it has been necessary to increase the rates on our fixed rate mortgages."

He predicted that there will be "frequent" changes to fixed rates.