RICS: BBA mortgage approvals

Commenting on the BBA mortgage approval figures, Simon Rubinsohn RICS chief economist said: "The tightening in the credit crunch is continuing to take its toll on the residential property market with BBA data showing mortgage approvals at their lowest level since September 2000. The Bank of England's latest 'swap' arrangement with the banking sector should help provide a little more liquidity for lenders but is not going to turnaround the current challenging environment overnight. A more encouraging development evident in today's data is the pick up in lending to the commercial real estate industry which having fallen sharply around the turn of the year posted a smart rebound in March."