Mortgage approvals increase

The number of mortgage approvals in January rose from December, according to new figures published today.

A report from Connells Survey & Valuation has revealed that the number of approvals for house purchases increased by three per cent to 75,300 last month.

Ross Bowen, managing director of Connells Survey & Valuation said: "We should not read too much into one month''s numbers, this is still the weakest market in 13 years and the ongoing impact of home information packs (HIPS) following full implementation in December is unknown."

He added that Connells has seen a "rise in housing stock" and a "renewed interest from househunters".

Despite the numbers increasing it is still the worst set of results for January since 1994 and is a decrease of 38 per cent from January 2007.

Connells provides valuations on homes in the UK for all lenders in the country. It was opened in 1936.

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