31 August 2005
Official figures from the Bank of England show that mortgage lending grew at its lowest rate in three years in July.
However, despite the lack in great growth in this area the number of loan approvals hit a record high for the year.
Net mortgage lending rose by £6.45 billion last month, below the forecast £7.1 billion rise.
Mortgage approvals, seen as a good indicator of the health of the housing market rose to 97,000, one thousand more than last month.
A statement from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) responding to the figures said: "RICS expects housing market activity to continue firming slowly in the months ahead, helped in part by the August interest rate cut, a benign economic climate, and factors such as the number of job vacancies which is still holding at relatively high levels."
Geoffrey Dicks, UK economist at RBS Financial Markets added that the lending figures were "more evidence that consumers have become more averse to taking on new debt and of some stability in the housing market".
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