Mortgage lending falls only slightly from post-crisis high, says BBA

Numbers of UK mortgage approvals for house purchases rose 20.0% year-on-year in February, but unexpectedly fell compared to the previous month.

The number of mortgage approvals in February fell to 45,892, data from the British Banking Association revealed, down 2.2$ from the 46,916 in January and short of the 47,900 consensus estimate.

But total mortgage numbers were up 26% higher than a year ago, with remortgaging up 31% and house purchase lending up 20%.

Gross mortgage borrowing fell 3% to £13.2bn in February compared to January, though this is still highest annual rise since mid-2008 and a 33% increase on the same month last year.

BBA chief economist Richard Woolhouse said: “Mortgage borrowing remained buoyant in February. It appears that borrowers are continuing to try to get ahead of the increases in stamp duty for buy-to-let and second home buyers scheduled to come into effect next month.

“Consumer confidence is also robust," he added, contrary to some other evidence. "Households are increasingly taking advantage of low interest rates by taking on more unsecured borrowing.”