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Good news for agents as the spring sales season gets into full swing - the number of mortgages being granted has hit a six month high.

Bank of England figures show that during February some 61,760 mortgages were approved across the UK, around 1.5 per cent more than in January.

This is the third successive month showing a rise in mortgage approvals, and the highest overall figure since August last year; mortgage approvals had plummeted to a 17-month low towards the end of 2014.

Analysts were upbeat about the modest rise.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, says it disproves the theory that the market is being dimmed by the imminent election. Fierce competition between lenders is also a significant factor behind the rise in approvals. The emergence of more specialist lenders to compete with the high street brands means that, even with rigorous affordability checks in place, customers have more options than ever to explore getting a loan" he says.

And Howard Archer, chief UK economist with IHS Global Insight, says the housing market weaknesses seen over the winter have bottomed out "and activity is now gradually turning around."

However, the figures are still nowhere near the recent high of 75,453 approvals given in January 2014.

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