The housing market remains unsteady and may be heading for a double dip recession, it has been claimed.
According to new figures, there were 48,722
mortgage approvals last month – only 70 more than were granted in June.
Data from the
Bank of England has indicated that
mortgage lending is currently at about half the level required for a healthy market.
Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young Item Club, said the latest figures are proof that the market is heading toward a double dip.
"The figures for
mortgage approvals, a proxy for activity, tend to be well correlated with prices and the latest figures clearly point to falling prices over the second half of this year and into 2011, particularly now that supply shortages have eased," he said.
He added that unemployment levels could continue to rise as a result of cuts in the public sector, and noted that household income growth is still "poor".
According to the figures from the
Bank of England, secured lending to individuals rose by £100 million in July, following a £700 million increase in June.
