Mortgage approvals slide

The number of mortgages being approved has dipped to the lowest level since January, according to new figures from the Bank of England. The Bank said that there were 61,707 home-loan approvals for house purchases made in May, down from 62,806 the previous month and lower than a recent peak of 75,901 in January. The dip in May approvals follows the introduction of new lending rules in April under the Mortgage Market Review, which force banks and building societies to undertake tough affordability checks before they grant loans. “We expect mortgage lending volumes to stage a gradual recovery in the second half of this year,” comments Paul Hollingsworth of Capital Economics. TheEvening Standard’sJames Ashton questions whether the market is naturally correcting itself without the need for interference, but calls what the Financial Policy Committee has done so far “reasonable and balanced”. .