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Mortgage approvals take a dive
14 May 2008
The number of mortgage approvals in March has nearly halved in comparison to the same month last year, according to the latest statistics.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that only 46,500 new mortgages were approved over the month - 48 per cent less than the 89,000 approved in March 2007.
The news comes as banks tighten their belts in the face of a global credit crisis.
Leading UK bank Alliance & Leicester yesterday announced that it would be reducing mortgage lending by ten per cent, equivalent to £4.6 billion worth of loans.
Its decision comes on the back of predictions that the housing market will lose five per cent of its value this year, however some analysts refuse to believe the future is doom and gloom the market.
"Prices are going to come down," said Simon Zutshi of the Property Investors Network. However, he predicted: "After two or three years they will have stabilised [and] start to come back again."
