April slump for mortgage approvals

Posted: 01 Jun 2006 09:11:21 GMT

There was further evidence yesterday that growth in the housing market is beginning to level out, with April mortgage approvals falling to their lowest level in seven months.

Figures from the Bank of England show that there were 106,000 mortgage approvals in the month, which fell from a downwardly revised 114,000 in March.

Following a largely disappointing 2005 for the property market, house price growth has been encouraging in 2006 and the last few months have seen confidence returning.

But experts are now suggesting that growth is levelling out, with the market losing some of the momentum that was picked up in the early months of the year.

It is an assessment that was perhaps corroborated by yesterday's housing report from the Nationwide Building Society, which suggested that house prices had increased by just 0.2 per cent in May.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, however, strong growth in the economy should provide solid support for the market and a decline in property prices is unlikely.


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