Figures suggest market really is on the turn

Two sets of figures show how strong the housing market has become but - almost certainly - how it has come off the boil in recent weeks.

Data from HM Revenue & Customs shows that 100,360 homes were sold in the UK during May, a roughly 5.5 per cent rise on the April figure of 95,600.

HMRC figures are sometimes revised some months afterwards, but suggest that until recently the market was growing.

However the British Bankers' Association's latest figures on mortgage approvals - so therefore an indicator of how the housing market might look in the near future when purchases currently underway are eventually completed - suggests a drop in deals for the fourth month in a row.

The association says May's total of 65,132 approvals was now only a drop on recent months but was 3.5 per cent lower overall than in May 2013.

"These are the first mortgage approval figures we have seen since the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review, so it is significant they have fallen for the fourth month in a row. This is being driven by a drop in remortgaging and people borrowing against the value of their homes," according to Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA.