Mortgage approvals for house purchases in the United Kingdom surprisingly decreased in the month of February, when it dropped from January's 31,983 to 30,506, the British Bankers' Association showed in a report on Monday. The report also said re-mortgages rose from 15,184 in January to 15,980 in February, while other secured borrowing slipped to 8,914 in February from 9,429 the month before.