Mortgage approvals increased in April, latest data shows

There was a sharp increase in mortgage approvals in April as home owners continued to take advantage of low mortgage rates across much of the market, the latest data shows. There were 65,781 mortgages approved during April 2019, up 2.7% compared to the same month in 2018, according to the mortgage monitor from residential chartered surveyors e.surv. The report points out that while new activity in the wider housing market remains stagnant in many areas of the country, existing home owners are capitalising on a battle between High Street banks and other lenders which has seen interest rates fall so far this year.