LONDON (AFX) - New approvals for house purchases in June rose to 2.035 bln stg in seasonally-adjusted terms, compared with a revised 1.932 bln stg rise the previous month, according to the Building Societies Association.
On an unadjusted basis, new approvals rose to 2.305 bln stg in June against 2.097 bln in May.
Building societies' gross advances totalled an adjusted 2.086 bln stg, down from a revised 2.144 bln in May, while the unadjusted figure was up to 2.278 bln from 2.173 bln the previous month.
Gross advances are the total value of mortgages advanced in the period, while net advances are after repayments of principal. In the savings market, building societies saw a seasonally-adjusted net retail inflow of 643 mln stg in June, down from a revised inflow of 860 mln stg a month ago.
Commenting on the data, BSA's director general Adrian Coles said: "For the third month in a row, societies have seen their gross advances rise steadily, with June's figure up 5 pct on May's. This seems to reflect the picture given by Nationwide's recent house price survey, which said that prices in the UK had risen by 1.9 pct over the month, suggesting a healthy market."
"The spell of sunny weather in June has led more to thoughts of spending than saving, as even the UK's cash machine network reported that transactions in June were 54 pct higher than in the same month last year. Building societies seem to be reflecting this seasonal trend," he added.