Approvals up in stamp duty rush
Mortgage approvals hit a 25-month high in January after numbers were boosted by first-time buyers rushing to take advantage of a stamp duty holiday.
There were 58,728 loan approvals for house purchase, the highest since December 2009, according to Bank of England figures.
Gross mortgage lending at £12.8bn was higher than the six-month average, although approvals for remortgaging dropped off slightly to 31,952.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies