Mortgage approvals still strong

Demand for houses and mortgages is still buoyant

The number of new mortgages being approved for buying a house is still strong, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA).

In August, 71,000 new mortgages were granted to UK house buyers by the major banks represented by the BBA.

This was 4% more than in July and 3% up on August last year.

This suggests that the complete figures for all UK lenders, to be published by the Bank of England later this week, are also likely to rise.

The number of new mortgages approved, but not yet lent, is widely regarded as a good indicator of short-term trends in the property market.

"Approvals for house purchase are holding up - that is why we have record levels of gross and net mortgage lending," said David Dooks, head of statistics at the BBA.

No slowdown yet

Despite the recent rise in interest rates and speculation that there may be more rate increases to come, there is little evidence so far of the housing market slowing down.

Last week both the BBA and the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that the value of new home loans that have been granted recently have been at their highest level yet.

Not only are applications for new mortgages still buoyant, but property prices are continuing to rise and estate agents are still registering strong interest from would-be buyers.

The BBA's figures cover the UK's major banks but not the smaller ones or other lenders such as building societies.

As such they represent about two-thirds of all bank mortgage lending and about half the total UK mortgage market.