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| Mortgage lending 'rises slightly' | Mortgage lending 'rises slightly' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The number of mortgages approved for house purchases in the UK has risen for the first time in a year, according to the Bank of England. | The number of mortgages approved for house purchases in the UK has risen for the first time in a year, according to the Bank of England. |
| Some 33,000 home loans were approved in September, a rise of 1,000 compared with the record low of the previous month, the Bank said. | Some 33,000 home loans were approved in September, a rise of 1,000 compared with the record low of the previous month, the Bank said. |
| But mortgage lending was still below the average of the past six months. | |
| Homeowners have been hoping that recent Bank rate cuts and help for banks will ease the squeeze on mortgage lending. | Homeowners have been hoping that recent Bank rate cuts and help for banks will ease the squeeze on mortgage lending. |
| Traditionally, August is the quietest month for house sales and figures for that month showed that the nation's mortgage debt actually fell for the first time since records began in 1993. | Traditionally, August is the quietest month for house sales and figures for that month showed that the nation's mortgage debt actually fell for the first time since records began in 1993. |
| But in September, the mortgage approvals figure was up for the first time since June 2007. | But in September, the mortgage approvals figure was up for the first time since June 2007. |
| Separate figures from the Building Societies Association showed that net mortgage lending by building societies increased in September, compared with August, but was still 47% lower than the figure for September last year. | Separate figures from the Building Societies Association showed that net mortgage lending by building societies increased in September, compared with August, but was still 47% lower than the figure for September last year. |
| Stamp duty | |
| Part of the reason for the rise in mortgage approvals is likely to be that the government raised the threshold for stamp duty to £175,000 in early September. | |
| Some analysts said the August figures were lower because of rumours at the time that the stamp duty threshold would change. | |
| Mortgage lending was up £2.2bn in September, after a fall of 0.7bn in August, the Bank said. The average of the previous six months was a £3.5bn rise. | |
| The number of people remortgaging their homes was also up compared with August, the figures showed. |