Mortgage approvals rising again

Buying activity is picking up in London

The number of new mortgages being approved for home buying has gone up again, reflecting a continued pick-up in the property market.

According to figures from the British Bankers Association (BBA), nearly 58,000 new mortgages were approved for house purchase in February.

That was 28% higher than in January and 22% higher than a year ago.

Recently, lenders like the Halifax and the Nationwide have said that house prices are rising again.

Stronger indicators

David Dooks, director of statistics at the BBA, said: "The comparative weakness of the mortgage market in the first half of last year means that current indicators of activity - such as gross lending and approvals - are much stronger than they were twelve months earlier when the housing market was somewhat subdued.

"But they are by no means yet approaching the levels of activity seen in 2004," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the recent pick-up in property prices was underlined by figures from the consultancy Hometrack.

It said the market was being driven by a revival in house prices in London.

This helped to push up prices in England and Wales by 0.4% in March.

That was the fourth monthly increase in a row recorded by Hometrack.