UK mortgage approvals down in Oct

London

BRITISH banks approved 37,076 mortgages for house purchase in October, the lowest number since May last year, as the housing market continued to slow, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said on Tuesday.

Mortgage approvals for house purchase fell from 39,127 in September, 16 per cent down from the same time a year ago and almost a quarter below the peak reached in January, the BBA said.