For a third month in a row, the number of UK mortgage approvals on houses declined in April.  Over the course of the last twelve months however, the UK housing market has continued to recover nicely and is set to see more steps forward as the warm weather brings out more home movers.

According to the BBA or British Bankers’ Association, more than 42,000 house mortgages were approved in the month of April.  March saw roughly 3,000 more than that approved.  January however took top billing as there were more than 50,000 house mortgages approved.

These figures are favourable especially when considering the figures from a year ago.  At the beginning of spring 2013, more than 32,000 were recorded during the month of

Housing figures are currently being bolstered by several factors.  There are many people believing in the real estate market and so consumer confidence is high.  Incomes are also up which means more people considering a move can potentially begin the long search for that perfect house.  And interest rates remain favourable even though more signs are pointing towards a change in rates in the near future rather than a distance out.

A prediction has been suggested by some regarding the decline in April.  A new set of guidelines which were put into force possibly affected the number of mortgage approvals.

Howard Archer with IHS commented on the MMR guidelines, saying:

 “While the MMR only came into effect on 26 April, it is evident that some banks raised their mortgage lending standards before the new regulations kicked in. These regulations put greater onus on mortgage lenders to assess the ability of potential borrowers to meet their initial and future (based on higher interest rates) mortgage payments.”