A weakening property market means that a reduction in the number of mortgage approvals last month is unsurprising, one expert has said.
According to the business economist at the Building Societies Association (BSA), Andrew Gall, house price falls have been shown to be a barrier to future house purchases by a recent BSA report.
This follows last week's news from the Land Registry that property values slipped by 4.6 per cent in the last year, with Mr Gall adding that it is "hardly surprising" that demand for secured loans has dropped.
"Activity in the housing market remains depressed, so, although the figures for both net approvals and net lending are better than for last month, they still remain low," he said.
However, chief executive of the Association of British Credit Unions Mark Lyonette recently stated that the economic slowdown has resulted in the increased popularity of unsecured loans.
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