According to the latest High Street banking statistics from the British Bankers' Association, there was a significant rise in the number of mortgage approvals in April.
House purchase approvals were higher than last month and 3% higher than in April 2014, possibly influenced by the introduction of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland.
Gross mortgage borrowing in April was £10.5 billion – 13% lower than in the same month last year but 2% higher than in March. Although seeing slower demand in the second half of 2014, the overall mortgage stock is now 1.0% higher than a year ago.
Remortgaging and other approvals also increased in April and are some 6% higher and 7% lower respectively than a year ago.
