Figures released by the Bank of England yesterday show total lending to individuals rose by £.7 billion in November although the growth rate was unchanged at 0.8%.
Within the total, lending secured on dwellings rose £0.8 billion in November, compared to a £1.2 billion increase in October, slightly above the previous six-month average of £0.7 billion. The twelve-month growth rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 0.8% and the three-month annualised growth rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 0.7%.
The number of loan approvals for house purchase in November, 48,019, was slightly higher than the October figure of 47,315 revealing an ever so slight upward trend.
Figures show that approvals for remortgages however had a significant rise, 34,262 for November up from 30,429 in October, higher than the previous six month average of 28,210, while approvals for other purposes fell to 22,770 from 23,425 in October and were lower than the previous six month average of 24,149.
The increase has been driven by a rise in the number of people remortgaging their properties as home owners become more conscious of the fact that interest rates could rise over the coming year.
Although mortgage approvals rose slightly in October they are still low when looking at historical data and look likely to fall again in December.
Consumer credit fell in November by £0.1 billion, compared to a £0.3 billion increase in October. The twelve month growth rate remained the same at 0.6%. Within consumer credit, credit card lending rose by £0.1 billion while other loans and advances showed a repayment of £0.2 billion.
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