"The housing market has been a source of bright news recently. Recent trends have led to some fears that the housing market is beginning to overheat."
- Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec Securities
Another signs British economy is on the path of sustain recovery came out on Friday, as the number of mortgage approvals rose to the highest since March 2008, house prices continued to soar in August, while confidence among Britain's reached the highest level in almost four years. The Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the U.K. lenders granted 60,624 mortgage in July, compared with a revised 58,238 in the preceding month and much higher than the median forecast of 58,800. Gross mortgage lending soared to the highest since November 2008. Another sign of a clear revival in the housing market is the report from the Nationwide, which showed house price advanced 0.6% between July and August, while on a yearly basis they rose 3.5%. It means that all schemes introduced by the government are working and boosting lending to households, however, they also are raising concerns over the growing bubble in the property market.
Also Friday, the Gfk group said a gauge of consumer sentiment surged 3 points to minus 13, the highest since October 2009. Moreover an index designed to predict if more consumers think that now is the right time to make major purchases climbed 5 points to minus 16- highest since December 2010. The fact that many important indicators are hitting crucial highs is dispersing clouds from British policymakers, as the economy is on the right track.
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