The housing market is continuing to boom with the number of mortgage approvals rising for the fifth consecutive month to the highest level for a year.
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), around 45,000 mortgages were issued during the month with a 26 per cent rise in the number of first-time buyers getting on the property ladder than in May.
And as a further sign of the stabilization of the market, prices rose 1.6 per cent during June as the housing sector continued to gain support from a shortage of homes for sale. Surveyors predict that prices are going to increase rather than fall during the coming three months, the second consecutive month during which expectations have been positive.
Although prospective buyers are more confident, more active and more prepared to transact, the shortage of stock is a more fundamental driver of the price rise that is being observed today.
According to experts, although the demand for property is continuing to recover, it still remains low from a historical perspective. Crucially, it is the lack of supply that is helping to undermine prices at the present time.
A total of 116,700 mortgages for house purchase were advanced during the second quarter of the year, 50 per cent more than during the previous three months, but still 22 per cent fewer than in the same period of 2008. But of course the destiny of the property market is closely tied to the economy and the direction it takes.
