Mortgage approvals jump Wednesday, 1st April 2009

The Bankd of England say that the number of mortgages approved for house purchase jumped by 19 per cent during February.

Also consumers made the biggest net repayment of loans since records began in 1993 even though concerned about jobs.

With Building Societies also reporting a surge in receipts last month as consumers saved more money. Some £1,595 million was deposited in building society accounts in February - the highest February net receipt on record.

Despite the Bank Rate being so low people are still keen to save, probably in response to the uncertain economic outlook and reduced job security.

Some are suggesting that the positive mortgage figures show that the worst could be over in the housing market as buyers re-enter the market to snap up property bargains. Although there would need to be a significantly bigger pick up in activity before house prices stop falling. House prices have tumbled by 20 per cent since the market peaked in summer 2007.

Perhapsw housing market activity may finally have turned a corner. This might suggest that the pick-up in new buyer enquiries is feeding through into actual activity. With new buyer enquiries still rising, this is clearly quite hopeful.

But there is still a long way to go.

All this follows early signs that the US housing market, which has also been hit hard by the sub-prime crisis and resulting credit crunch, also showed signs of a pick up. Sales of existing homes jumped by 5.1 per cent last month, spurred on by first-time buyers snapping up foreclosure bargains.