There’s more data out today, this in the form of mortgage volumes as published at 9.30am.
You’ll be forgiven for being confused though given that the level of mortgage approvals, (that is new mortgage applications granted), has declined but mortgage lending, the actual money that’s flowed into house purchase, is up. Quite a contrast at this odd time for us all.
These numbers are from the Bank of England and therefore credible.
Mortgage approvals in April – 56,160 vs 73,500 in March 2020 and 62,340 in April 2019
Mortgage lending in April – £4.8bn vs £4bn in March 2020 and £4.12bn in April 2019
So approvals are down 10% year on year but lending itself is up 20% month on month and up 17% year on year.
This, we suggest, is going to take a few sets of numbers to shake out properly. Yet it’s evident that whilst new mortgage applications are lower, they have not dried up and whilst mortgage and therefore home purchase completions have, for now, continued in spite of the Corona crisis.
Keep checking back here for the latest statistics and commentary.
