The Bank of England has reported a rise in the number of new mortgages approved for home buyers during April, the third consecutive month a rise has occurred.

43,201 new loans were approved by mortgage lenders to home buyers during the month. There was a fall in the number of people who drew new loans out by changing lender and for those who would top up their existing mortgage.

The approvals are seen as positive news for the house marked as they can indicate short term trends in the market and at present give the suggestion that sales will continue to grow.

Building Societies
Also released today are mortgage approval figures from the building societies. Gross mortgage lending by building societies was £1,551 million in April 2009, compared to £1,571 million in March, and £3,921 million in April 2008.

Commenting on mortgage figures, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage Policy at the BSA said: “Gross mortgage lending by building societies was £1,551 million in April 2009, a similar level to March, but still 60% lower than gross lending in April a year earlier.

Although also at low levels, building society mortgage approvals (which give some indication of future lending activity) were 14% higher in April than in March, after adjusting for seasonal factors. Therefore, the rate of decline in activity in the housing market may have started to slow, but overall the lending environment remains very challenging.”