RICS: Bank of England October mortgage approvals

Commenting on the Bank of England mortgage approvals, Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist said: "The latest data from the Bank of England confirms that the volume of mortgage approvals edged up a little further in October. This is consistent with previously released numbers from the British Bankers' Association. Significantly, net secured lending rose by a little over £3bn in the three months to October compared with just £443m in the previous three month period. While this is still way down on the level of lending seen at the height of the boom in the market, it does suggest that that there is now a little more give from lenders. Arguably just as important in restraining activity at the present time is the poor flow of supply of stock on to estate agents books. Recent RICS surveys do point to a gentle pick-up in the number of new instructions but they are still at historically low levels and not keeping pace with demand.

"This imbalance helps to explain why house prices are continuing to push upwards, as highlighted by the Land Registry data released last week. The pace of price increases is likely to slacken as a little bit more supply comes onto the market but with new buyer enquiries at estate agents still rising more rapidly, it is likely that prices will continue to move higher in the new year even if the extended zero rate stamp duty allowance is removed."