Banks start to loosen mortgage lending conditions
Friday, 9 December 2011 9:35 AM
Mortgage approvals have hit their highest level since December 2009 according to the latest mortgage monitor from e.surv.
The chartered surveyor said there were 54,658 approvals for house purchase in November, an increase of four per cent on October and 15 per cent on November 2010.
Lending conditions were looser than at any time since October 2007, as the average deposit fell back to 38 per cent in November, compared to 40 per cent in October and 42 per cent a year ago.
The proportion of borrowers with a deposit of less than 15 per cent was the highest since October 2008 and the average deposit for a first-time buyer was 31 per cent, the lowest since August 2008.
There were also more buy-to-let investors in the market taking advantage of more lender enthusiasm for landlords.
Loans for purchase of below £250,000 accounted for almost three-quarters of the market, suggesting that wealthy buyers are starting to represent a less disproportionate share of the market.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, said: "The market is thus far showing resilience in the face of the chaos emanating from the eurozone.
"For the last few months, the banks have been focusing their lending on specific groups, particularly buy-to-let investors, but this is the first time they appear to have increased lending to first time buyers in any notable sort of volume."
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