Home purchase mortgages double in 12 months
The British Bankers Association (BBA) has today confirmed that 42,238 mortgages were approved in October against 42,073 the previous month. These mortgages are specifically house purchase mortgages, which do not include redemptions and repayments, and show a 98% increase compared to the same period last year. So what exactly does this mean?
While there is no doubt that the UK mortgage market and the UK property market have bottomed out from their October/November low of last year we are comparing very reduced numbers which can in some ways mask the real underlying trend. The bottom line is that while the property market has shown signs of life, there are still liquidity issues within the mortgage market and if as expected 2010 is a difficult year then we could see mortgage liquidity subdued again.
As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, the property sector, and by association the mortgage market, is vital to the overall recovery in the UK economy and without this it would be difficult to form a firm base going forward. All eyes will be on the mortgage liquidity trend over the next few months which should indicate how experts expect the mortgage market and the property market to perform in 2010.
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