According to figures released on Thursday, the UK housing market remains in a state of flux. Indeed, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) announced that an annual rise in mortgage approvals, which are up 81% in August from the same month last year, has been exaggerated by extreme market conditions in 2008. Additionally, the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that the number of homes sold in August of this year has fallen by 4,000 to 83,000 from July, which is the first time this year that a drop has been recorded. These contrasting statistics prove little more than what home-owners and property developers already know.

Indeed, the housing market is essentially still in a slump and it will no doubt remain there until the British economy has sufficiently recovered from the recession. Therefore, home-owners are unlikely to acknowledge the freshly published statistics with any sense of optimism, as it is more than clear that house prices and sales are nowhere near former highs. However, the BBA also announced that remortgage loan applications have fallen by 47% in the year leading up to August. Again, whilst this may suggest that home-owners and property developers are holding steady in a volatile market until conditions improve, the statistics are also muddied by those relating to unsecured lending in general.

In other words, painting an accurate picture of the housing market in the UK as it exists today is not a straightforward task by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps the only point of substance that can be gleaned from the statistics is that the housing market is experiencing a moderate level of stimulation in terms of buying and selling, which can only be a good thing for those who are undertaking home improvements in the hope of a rejuvenated market to come.

Related posts:

1. Mortgage Wars Set to Reanimate Housing Market There have been countless discussions on the global downturn and...
2. Further Glimmers of Hope for Housing Market The Council of Mortgage Lenders announced on Thursday mortgage lending...
3. House Prices Continue to Rise Despite Predictions House prices in the UK have risen for the seventh...
4. House Prices – Finally On The Up? No stranger to doom and gloom headlines, the recession has...
5. DIY Trends Stimulate B&Q Profits Kingfisher, which is the parent company of popular nationwide DIY...