BBA mortgage approvals at 18-month nadir

There was more bad news for the UK housing market on Monday as the British Bankers' Association's measurement of mortgage approvals fell to an 18-month low in September.The number of new mortgages approved by members of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) in September was just 31,104, down from 31,781 in August and below market expectations of 31,600.The September figure was down 26.0% on September of last year and well below the monthly average of 34,620 for new mortgage approvals over the last six months. "Demand for new mortgages remains low despite more properties on the market and falling house prices," observed BBA statistics director David Dooks.The number of loans for house owners remortgaging eased to 23,820 in September from 23,981 in August. Other secured loans declined to 17,798 from 18,169 in August. "Business borrowing continues to reflect weak demand combined with companies reducing gearing by repaying bank borrowing," he added.Net mortgage lending in value terms declined to £1.6bn from £2.5bn, well below the monthly average of £2.2bn for the previous six months.