Mortgage approvals fall again in the UK

Mortgage lending in the UK remained subdued during July as the housing market failed to pick up, figures showed today.

Lending by the major banks fell to its second lowest level since February 2001 of £1.95bn, once redemptions and repayments were stripped out, according to the British Bankers’ Association.

The market also showed little sign of picking up, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchase dropping for the second month in a row.

A total of 33,698 loans were in the pipeline for people moving home, 2.5% less than in June, and well down on the recent high of 45,415 reached in December.