The number of approvals for house purchase loans increased for the third month in a row in July to 49,239, up from 48,500 in June, according to the Bank of England. Its figures showed that house purchase approvals were up modestly year-on-year, from 48,722 in July 2010, and showed a notable increase on the previous six-month average of 46,822.
The number of approvals for remortgaging also increased, up 14% year-on-year to 30,810 in July.
However, remortgage approvals in July were almost static compared to the previous month's total of 30,790 and were down on the previous six-month average of 31,340. Meanwhile, the number of approvals for other purposes continued to remain around the 20,000 mark, totalling 20,271 in July compared to 20,217 in June and the previous six-month average of 20,375.
Year on year, approvals for other purposes fell 14%. Total mortgage approvals amounted to 100,320 in July, up from 99,507 the previous month and 99,893 in July 2010. Mortgage lending rose by