British Bankers’ Association: equity release lending bucks the trend

Gross mortgage lending at UK banks was £8.4 billion in July, slightly below the previous six months’ average of £8.6 billion, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). The average value of house price purchase approvals totalled £148,500, slightly down on June levels.

However, remortgaging approvals totalled 21,908 and equity release approvals were at 18.221, both at similar levels to June and to the previous six months.

David Dooks, statistics director at the BBA, says: “Gross mortgage lending remains stable, although demand for mortgages continues to be subdued. The greater availability of properties for sale and slowing house price growth have not yet fed through to increased house purchase approvals.”