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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Mortgage approvals still falling | Mortgage approvals still falling |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Mortgage approvals dropped again in October, suggesting that house sales and prices have further to fall. | Mortgage approvals dropped again in October, suggesting that house sales and prices have further to fall. |
| Bank of England figures show that just 32,000 mortgages were approved, 1,000 fewer than in the previous month. | Bank of England figures show that just 32,000 mortgages were approved, 1,000 fewer than in the previous month. |
| The number of mortgages approved, but not yet lent, is a good indicator of medium term trends in lending. | The number of mortgages approved, but not yet lent, is a good indicator of medium term trends in lending. |
| The UK housing market has already seen prices fall by between 10% and 15% in the past year with sales down by more than half. | The UK housing market has already seen prices fall by between 10% and 15% in the past year with sales down by more than half. |
| Unprecedented situation | |
| Approvals have slumped by 74% in the past year, under the impact of the global credit crunch which has forced banks and building societies to ration their mortgage lending | |
| In June 2007 approvals stood at 115,000, and by October last year were already sliding, hitting 88,000 that month and falling much further since then. | |
| For the past four months they have hovered between 32,000 and 33,00 each month, suggesting that lending for house purchase may have reached its bottom. | |
| However Sir James Crosby, the former head of the UK's biggest mortgage lender HBOS, has warned the government this month that lending next year for home loans may fall even further. | |
| That could reach the unprecedented situation, he warned, of no fresh lending at all in 2009 unless the government took steps to reinvigorate the ability of banks to raise fresh funds to lend to home buyers. | |
| The value of mortgages loaned during October was almost 70% down from September to £459m - the second lowest figure on record and only 6% of the level for October 2007. |