UK mortgage lending came in at +£1.507 bln in February with mortgage approvals at 38,000. Both numbers are more robust than expected, the median forecasts having called for +£0.9 bln and 34,000 respectively.
At the same time February consumer credit fell -0.245 bln, well below the expected +0.4 bln, the biggest repayment ever. I must admit I’ve been busy cutting back on my credit card debt. So, a triple whammy of good news. Cable sits at 1.4165.
However, while the news on mortgage lending/ approvals is encouraging, I think it’s far far too early to be looking for a sustainable turnaround in the housing market.