Loans for house price purchases fall as buyers turn to renting

29 2008
Britons showed a reduced appetite for taking out mortgages in March, it has been revealed.

According to figures released by the Bank of England, the number of loans approved for house purchases was lower last month than it was in February.

This suggests that more people are turning their backs on buying in favour of a renting lifestyle.

Vicky Redwood, an economist at Capital Economics, believes the problem is likely to get worse - at least in the short-term.

"Even if the availability of mortgages does increase, the growing expectation of further house price falls might deter new buyers anyway. Accordingly, house prices look set to keep falling," she said.

The statistics show that 64,000 mortgages for house purchase were approved in March - down from 72,000 in February.

This is close to the low-point seen in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, the increase in total net lending to individuals in March was also down on the February figure at £8.2 billion.ADNFCR-1219-ID-18572478-ADNFCR

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