The Bank of England recently released economic data containing information regarding the housing sector.  Data from this sector indicated flat figures have continued for 18 months running.  Remortgage activity remains flat along with the rest of the market.  Most analysts see the housing market struggling for several months to come.  This is primarily due to lower wages across the UK and challenging austerity measures handed down by the government creating tighter household budgets.

Vicky Redwood, speaking on behalf of Capital Economics, commented on the economic data released, saying: "This morning's batch of UK data is generally pretty mediocre. The worst news is the 1.2 percent monthly drop in services output in April. No doubt much of this drop reflected the extra bank holiday for the Royal Wedding and should be recouped next month. But at the very least, this sets a weak starting point for the overall second quarter.

"Turning to the housing market, the rise in the number of mortgage approvals from 45,200 to 45,900 in May was a bit smaller than expected, and left the level of housing market activity still pretty much flat over the past 18 months. Meanwhile, the 0.2 bln pounds of consumer credit in May was a bit weaker than in the past few months."

Howard Archer, chief economist with IHS Global Insight, discussed the future of home prices and market demand, saying: "Ongoing muted housing activity is likely to keep the lid on house prices. Indeed, modest falls in house prices still seem likely to us over the coming months in the face of weak economic fundaments and a housing supply-demand balance currently pretty favourable for buyers."