Banks advance £12bn in April, while number of mortgages approved falls for third month running
High street banks advanced £12.2bn worth of mortgages in April, the highest monthly figure in six years and up by more than half on April 2013's figure, according to data from the British Bankers Association.
However, the number of home loans approved for house purchases and remortgaging both fell for the third month running.
The BBA said while mortgage assistance schemes helped first-time buyers and housing chains generally through the late months of last year as housing market activity increased, the number of people taking out home loans had moderated since the start of the year.
New rules on mortgage lending came into force in April, although some lenders adopted them earlier, and experts said this may have had an impact on approval numbers.
A total of 71,238 mortgages were approved, down from 74,853 in March and below the previous six-month average of 76,795. Of these, 42,173 were for house purchases, against a six-month average of 45,720. Remortgage approvals totalled 21,129, compared with a six-month average of 22,282 and the rest were other secured loans.