Mortgage lending up but approvals at record low in November

However, the market is still well down on November 2007 when net lending was £790m by building societies. Gross mortgage lending dropped to £2,595m in November 2008, compared to £4,070m during the same month in 2007, according to figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA). Despite the rise in lending towards the end of last year, mortgage approvals from building societies were also down at £2,082m in November compared to £2,777m in October. This is a significant drop from the £3,850m recorded in November 2007 as providers refused to take on unnecessary risks and tightened the...