Mortgages hit new low

The number of residential mortgage approvals has reached a record low, new statistics have revealed.

Bank of England figures for lending to individuals have revealed that the number of loans made to buy property fell from 72,000 in February to just 64,000 in March.

The increase in net lending, at £6.9 billion, was also below both the February figure and the six-month average.

Such findings suggest that the effects of stricter lending criteria, lower mortgage product availability and the need to raise higher deposits are placing downward pressure on the mortgage market.

Commenting on the figures, the chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Simon Rubinsohn, said they were "hardly surprising given that lenders have been aggressively scaling back on the provision of finance to homebuyers".

The difficulty of getting mortgages may prompt some would-be housebuyers to consider the alternative option of self build.


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