Mortgage approvals by leading UK banks soared to a new record in September in the latest sign of a new lease of life for housing.
Lenders last month approved 292,800 new mortgages with a total value of £23.3bn, up 37% on a year earlier.
The strong increase suggested that first-time buyers are coming back into the market after being priced out during the height of the property boom, the British Bankers’ Association said yesterday.
The average mortgage is now £111,900, about 29% higher than last September.
References: Financial Times 28/10/03 page 6, The Daily Telegraph 28/10/03 page 1, The Times 28/10/03 page 24 (Need to Know), The Guardian 28/10/03 page 18 (In Brief), The Independent 28/10/03 page 19 (Broadsheet
