The number of mortgage approvals in the U.K. rose in November to its highest level in a nine-month period, suggesting that the home loan market is going through stabilization, the British Banker's Association reported on Thursday. Mortgage approvals rose from 33,634 in October to 33,128 in November, while the gross mortgage lending reached 7.7 billion pounds.
Households "continuing to repay virtually as much as they borrow and, as people hold on to cash, deposits are growing by 6 percent annually," said David Dooks, BBA statistics director.
"The situation is not dissimilar in the business world; businesses are holding back investment or expansion plans and building up cash reserves," he added.