January mortgage market 'weakest since '94'

However, January 2008 is the weakest start to a year since records began in 1994, indicating a marked slowdown in the mortgage and housing markets. Seasonally adjusted figures for mortgage approvals show a rise of 3% in January, up to 75,300 from 73,000 in December 2007, the first increase in approvals since May last year. However, approvals have fallen 38% compared with January 2007, when almost 125,000 mortgage were approved, while approvals have reached their worst January level since Bank of England records began in 1994. Commenting on the findings, Ross Bowen, managing director of C...