The number of new mortgages approved by the main UK banks for house purchase is still rising, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

Banks, which currently account for most new mortgages, approved 42,100 home loans for house buyers in September, up from 40,100 in August.

Bank mortgage approvals are now 77% higher than a year ago.

The BBA said approvals had now been “rising steadily” for the past eight months.

It added that the number of new loans for house purchase was back to the level last seen at the end of 2007.

“Mortgage lending by the High Street banks is continuing to improve from the lows seen earlier this year and the number of house purchase approvals continues to recover,” said the BBA’s statistics director, David Dooks.

“Housing market activity will depend, however, on more properties coming on to the market.”

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said prices were likely to keep on rising.

Categories: Bank, Money, World Economy
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