New mortgage figures indicate that the UK housing market is in “excellent health” the Bank of England has said.
More than 120,000 mortgages were approved in July, well above the long term monthly average of 95,000, and significantly above the recent low of 77,000 in November 2005.
“The housing market remains in excellent health, with a strong economy and investor activity fuelling demand,” said David Stubbs, economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).
“Rics expects UK house prices to rise by around seven per cent this year, however, first-time buyers will continue to find it hard to access the housing market as house prices rise faster than earnings.
“The difficulty of getting onto the housing ladder has strengthened tenant demand in the rental market, making accessibility for first time buyers prohibitive.”
The bank noted that the figures do not include figures following the 0.25 per cent increase in the base rate and the consequent increase in the cost of the best mortgage rate deals, however.
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