(1888PressRelease)
July 31, 2007 - The British Bankers' Association (BBA) says that just 193,850 mortgages for all purposes were approved in June of this year.
That signals an eight per cent decrease on the figure recorded in June 2006 and displays a worrying trend for people who are looking to sell their home.
A total of £21.5 billion was borrowed in the month, beating previous records, but the BBA points out that this is an annual increase of just five per cent.
According to the organisation, this suggests that lending growth is slowing in real terms.
"Although the trend in net mortgage lending is being maintained, approval numbers for house purchase are well down on this time last year, suggesting that market demand may be reacting to higher mortgage costs," said David Dooks, director of statistics at the BBA.
Julian King of National Homebuyers says homeowners should be seriously concerned at the plummeting number of mortgage approvals. "This will make selling their property extremely difficult," he says.
National Homebuyers is the UK's fast property purchase firm, guaranteeing to make an offer on any property surveyed for vendors in who need a quick sale.
"The lack of buyers is already having an effect on the homeowners' ability to sell their property. Fewer people are able to get onto the property ladder and although people are seeking new agreements because of the rise in interest rates, it seems that they are not finding a deal.
"This means that the number of available people to purchase a property for sale is dramatically reduced and therefore so is the home sellers' ability to achieve a sale."
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