Number of mortgages taken out falls

The property market may be cooling in the UK with the number of people taking out mortgages falling to a two-year low in January, according to a new report.

The British Bankers Association (BBA) has reported that while 45,000 took out a mortgage in the January of last year, this has fallen to 37,804 in January 2007. This si thought to have been affected by the one-off removal of 7,000 long-standing agreed home loans.

But while the volume of mortgages taken out has decreased, the overall amount borrowed has risen by 15 per cent to £16.6 billion.

David Dooks, from the statistics branch of the BBA, said: "January saw a continued stable demand for mortgages.

"Actual borrowing on mortgages remains strong compared with this time last year, so the impact of higher interest rates has yet to feature."

The average size of loan for home purchase was £144,700 last month although credit card borrowing declined by £0.5 billion.


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