Lending down say bankers, but NAEA says house sales are up

Mortgage lending by the major banks dropped 6% year on year last month, the British Bankers Association has reported.

However, the National Association of Estate Agents claimed this morning that the number of house sales in June rose to the highest level in more than two years – suggesting that if so, a number must have been cash buyers.

According to the BBA, the number of house purchase approvals stood at 31,747 in June, slightly higher than the 30,803 recorded in May but 6% lower than June 2010.

The average approval value was £149,700. Approvals for house purchase totalled £4.6bn in value, slightly more than May’s £4.5bn.

The number of remortgages in June was higher than May, at 24,080, but below the recent six-month average of 23,888.

BBA statistics director David Dooks said: “Banks continue to lend for house purchase but the weak mortgage market is self-evident, although some growth is coming from the buy-to-let sector to meet demand for rental properties.”

However, according to the NAEA, the number of sales agreed in June went up.

It said the number of sales agreed rose from an average of eight per branch in May to nine, although sales to first-time buyers dropped from 24% in May to 20%.

The average number of properties for sale per branch also increased, said the NAEA, from 68 in May to 74 in June. This is the highest figure since April 2009, when there was an average of 76 homes for sale per branch.

The rise in supply was not matched by a rise in demand: during June, the number of new house hunters dropped for the third consecutive month.

In June, 263 applicants registered per branch, compared with 275 in May – a decrease of 4%.