Partner Article

Mortgage approvals fall sharply

The level of mortgage approvals by the country’s largest banks “fell sharply” in January, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

The BBA said many buyers had borrowed in December to beat the re-introduction of a lower stamp duty threshold.

The BBA’s members approved 35,000 new mortgages to home buyers last month, down from 46,000 in December.

Total mortgage lending fell to just £8bn in January, the lowest monthly amount for eight and a half years.

With house prices recovering slightly over the past year, one of the bigger building societies has launched a new range of mortgages aimed at first-time buyers.

The Newcastle building society is offering loans requiring just 10% deposits, with interest at 4.6% for its two-year tracker mortgage and 5.95% for its two-year fixed rate deal.

However, the Newcastle warned that the funds available for these deals were limited.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .