Mortgages 'more available' says Bank of England

By Lucy Bower

Mortgage availability increased over the summer months, according to the Bank of England, and will increase over the next three months too, reports The Telegraph.

In the third quarter of this year, the three months to September, the Bank of England said there was a 'significant' improvement in the availability of secured lending, but credit scoring tightened over the same period too and large deposits are still required.

Still, it's good news that there are some signs of improvement - the housing market has been in the doldrums for a while now, as banks and building societies ask for substantial deposits, making it difficult for first-time buyers to get a foot on the ladder. One knock-on effect of this has been a boom in the rental sector in recent months, as potential homeowners turned to rented accommodation when secured credit was harder to come by.

The Bank of England and the Treasury invested £80 billion in the 'Funding for Lending' scheme earlier last month, and analysts say that this is helping to free up credit for individuals and businesses alike - but we're not out of the woods yet.

One financial analyst, Vicky Redwood, the chief UK economist for Capital Economics, commented: "Overall, the outlook for bank lending is better than it was a few months ago, helped by the latest policy initiatives. Nonetheless, we think it will be a long and slow process to get credit flowing freely around the economy again."

According to the Bank of England, we are likely to see more people looking for a mortgage in the coming months, and slightly more approvals of credit card applications too, with a loosening of credit-scoring criteria.

Tags: Bank of England, Mortgage

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