Mortgage lending still flat-lining

This is according to Capital Economics who says there is little chance of a marked improvement in the next 12 months.

Commenting, Paul Diggle, property economist at Capital Economics, said: “Although still soft, the [Bank of England’s] data for approvals for house purchase is perhaps a touch stronger than the more timely data released by the BBA and in the Bank of?England’s Trends in Lending report, both of which showed a fall of around 1,000 approvals in July.

“Nevertheless, the difference is small and the weakness in all three measures continues to suggest that the modest improvement seen in March and?April was just temporary.

“Forward looking indicators of both mortgage demand and supply are, if anything, pointing to weaker mortgage approvals in the months ahead. And the recent signs?that house prices have begun to fall again, added to by the Hometrack data released over the weekend, will only weigh on activity.

“While mortgage approvals have been reasonably steady since the start of the year, it is difficult to see how?they will regain the highs of late 2009, let alone improve to pre-recession levels.”