Mortgage approvals up by 19%

Telegraph - A total of 37,937 loans were approved for people buying a home during the month, the highest level since May last year, according to the Bank of England.
The figure suggests that record low interest rates and recent steep house price falls are tempting buyers back to the property market.

Reports from estate agents have suggested that interest in property has soared in recent weeks, but there had previously been little evidence to show that this was translating into sales.
The British Bankers' Association last week released figures showing that the number of mortgages approved for house purchase by the major banks rose for the third month in a row during February.
But it was thought that much of this increase was being driven by banks' greater market share, rather than higher overall lending levels.
However, today's Bank of England figures, which beat economists expectations and are well up on the recent six month average of 31,495, suggest sales may be picking up again.
Vicky Redwood, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "February's household borrowing figures suggest that housing market activity may finally have turned a corner.
"The rise in the number of mortgage approvals for new house purchase... might suggest that the pickup in new buyer inquiries is feeding through into actual activity. With new buyer inquiries still rising, this is clearly quite promising."
But she added that approvals levels would need to broadly double before they were no longer consistent with falling house prices.
Despite the pickup, approvals for house purchase were still 44 per cent lower than in February 2008.
Remortgaging activity also continued to decline during the month, with just 32,633 loans approved for people switching to a better deal, well down on the previous six-month average of 52,780.
The fall in remortgaging activity is likely to reflect the fact that record low interest rates mean many people are better off staying on their lender's standard variable rate when their existing deal comes to an end, rather than taking out a new mortgage.Net mortgage lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, also rose during February, increasing to £1.51 billion, up from £1.08 billion in January, but still below December's £1.96 billion.
The figures came as property intelligence group Hometrack reported a slowing in the rate of house price falls during March as activity in the market increased.
The group said house prices in England and Wales dropped by 0.6%, the lowest fall for 10 months, while both the number of potential buyers registering with agents and the number of sales agreed continued to rise.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The further limited rise in mortgage approvals from last November's record lows, and reports from estate agents that buyer inquiries have recently picked up appreciably, suggests that housing market activity has very likely bottomed out."
But he added that, with rising unemployment and the current problems in the economy, any recovery in activity was likely to be "gradual and fitful for some time to come".
Unsecured lending remained subdued during February, with borrowing through credit cards rising by £190 million, while consumers repaid £435 million more of loan debt and overdrafts than they borrowed.
Meanwhile, building societies continued to see their share of the mortgage market contract.
Net lending by the sector was negative for the second month running during February, with customers repaying £976 million more on their mortgages than building societies advanced through new lending.
But savings levels continued to soar, with mutuals taking in £1.6 billion, the highest amount ever during February and 18% up on the figure for February 2008.
The figure contrasts with one reported by the British Bankers' Association last week, which showed that consumers withdrew £73 million from banks during the same month.

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