UK July Mortgage Approvals Lowest On Record
The number of new mortgages approved for home buyers fell in July to just 33,000 - down by 71% on a year ago.
The figures from the Bank of England are a new record low and highlight the sharp slump in mortgage lending in the course of the past year.
The credit crunch has forced banks and building societies to ration their lending to only their most creditworthy borrowers.
The value of home loans in July was 3.23 billion pounds compared to 9.35 billion pounds in July 2007.
Bank lending to all mortgage borrowers, whether moving house or not, shrank by £12.1bn in July - far and away the biggest monthly contraction on record.
The collapse in business by specialist lenders other than banks and building societies, such as those specialising in sub-prime mortgages, is also illustrated by the Bank of England's figures.
In July 2007 these lenders gave out 32,000 mortgages for house purchase; in July 2008 they lent just 2,000.
Manufacturing also contracted for a fourth month in a row as the economy staggered toward a recession.
The pound dipped to $1.80006 on the figures, the lowest since April 2006 and to its lowest level ever against the euro of 81.36 pence.
The figures from the Bank of England are a new record low and highlight the sharp slump in mortgage lending in the course of the past year.
The credit crunch has forced banks and building societies to ration their lending to only their most creditworthy borrowers.
The value of home loans in July was 3.23 billion pounds compared to 9.35 billion pounds in July 2007.
Bank lending to all mortgage borrowers, whether moving house or not, shrank by £12.1bn in July - far and away the biggest monthly contraction on record.
The collapse in business by specialist lenders other than banks and building societies, such as those specialising in sub-prime mortgages, is also illustrated by the Bank of England's figures.
In July 2007 these lenders gave out 32,000 mortgages for house purchase; in July 2008 they lent just 2,000.
Manufacturing also contracted for a fourth month in a row as the economy staggered toward a recession.
The pound dipped to $1.80006 on the figures, the lowest since April 2006 and to its lowest level ever against the euro of 81.36 pence.
