LONDON (AFX) - New approvals for house purchase in November rose to 2.407 bln stg in seasonally-adjusted terms, compared with a revised 2.336 bln stg rise the previous month, according to the Building Societies Association. On an unadjusted basis, new approvals rose to 2.527 bln stg in November against 2.278 bln in October. Building societies' gross advances totalled an adjusted 2.265 bln stg in November, up from a revised 2.228 bln in Oct, while the unadjusted figure rose to 2.431 bln from 2.309 bln in 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 758 mln stg in Nov, down from an inflow of 827 mln the previous month. BSA director-general Adrian Coles said: "November's net advances are over double those seen for the month of July, and the highest since March. Although societies' overall share of the mortgage market decreased in the summer, these figures show that they are now recovering." Commenting on the savings figures, Coles said: "November has been another strong month for societies, as net receipts were the highest since May. Equity markets remain weak and building society interest rates strongly positive in real terms." He said significant inflows are likely to continue in 2002.