Here is some tentative evidence that mortgage lending conditins might be improving slightly. The number of mortgage applications increased sharply in March, while the mortgage acceptance rate increased marginally (from 73.1 percent to 74.2 percent). Nevertheless, there are no signs of an early return to 100 percent mortgages with income ratios of 5 or more. I am not sure that the improving lending conditions signal a return to the crazy days of 2006.
4 comments:
Interesting, there are this is one of many signs that the property market is finally on the mend.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8020201.stm
The number of mortgages approved for house purchases fell to 26,097 in March, down 6.8% from February and 25% lower than a year earlier.
I wish they would give a more long term analysis. Like is this the lowest level on record, or since 19xx. A bit more context would help/scare the bejesus out of London Estate Agent.
Are any of these numbers seasonally adjusted? Did I miss that somewhere? Surely you would expect some upward movement in *any* year as the easter sales season gets under way - even a bad easter is likely to be better than a bad February, no?
So, in your view, increased borrowing equates to an "improvement".
Isn't this where we came in?
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