'Growing interest' in buying property

Posted: 23 Jul 2009 15:03:42 GMT

The latest mortgage figures show increasing interest among UK consumers in buying property, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Following the publication of figures by the British Bankers' Association (BBA), the organisation claims that activity is returning to the housing market as more people look into buying property with the financial assistance of a mortgage.

During June, £2.6 billion in new mortgage lending was approved, according to the BBA - up by £200 million or around eight per cent on the previous month's data.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, says that the statistics reflect "the RICS 'new buyers enquiries' series, which is continuing to show growing levels of interest in the housing market".

Annual growth in the total amount lent via mortgages in the UK now stands at 5.1 per cent.

The cash balance outstanding on mortgages has exceeded the £600 billion mark, reaching £602 billion in the latest data.

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