The latest figures from the Bank of England have shown that gross loan approvals increased by 25% in a year on year comparison for February.  There were a reported 116,605 approvals which is up from the 93,646 recorded last year.  On a month to month basis, February resulted with a decline from January by 7% from the first month’s level of 125,446.

Total lending value increased by 40% compared to last year at £17.2 billion.  Yet, again it was a decline from the previous month by 6%.  February of course was a shorter month than January and a few days less could have made a slight difference in the number of approvals processed.

Remortgaging showed a strong demand with a 20% increase over the previous year level of 28,258 to 33,902.  February resulted in a decline from January by 5%.  Total value of remortgage approvals resulted in an increase of 35% with a level of £5.3 billion.  Month to month comparison showed a drop of 7% from January to February.

House purchases showed strong demand with a year on year increase of 33%.  The monthly comparison from January to February resulted in an 8.4% decline from 76,753 to 70,309.  The value for house purchase loans in February was recorded at £11.1 billion which was a 42% increase when comparing year to year.  The month to month comparison of January to February resulted in a house purchase value decrease of 9% from £12.2 billion.

Lenders are still offering cheap remortgage and mortgage deals to borrowers.  The next report from the Bank of England is expected to show an increase from February to March as lending reports have shown a continued strong demand from lenders.