Latest Bank of England figures show that the number of new mortgage approvals for house purchase fell slightly in April to 107,000 - compared with 112,000 approvals in March. However the value of mortgage approvals fell only fractionally from £16.0 billion in March to £15.8 billion in April, so the average mortgage has increased from £142,000 to £147,000.
This suggests that the lower number of new mortgages approved in April is due to a shortage of supply, with borrowers having to pay higher prices.
The remortgaging trend continues to remain strong, although the April figures show a minor weakening with 98,000 remortgage approvals valued at £11.7 billion (compared with 101,000 in March, valued at £12.4 billion).
In terms of actual mortgage lending to individuals, the net increase of £8.9 billion in April (0.8%), compared with an increase of £9.4 billion in March (0.9%) represents an 11.4% increase over the last twelve months. These figures reflect the level of mortgage approvals made in previous months, at earlier stages in the house buying process.
