LONDON (Reuters) -The number of mortgages approved by British lenders for house purchase fell more than expected in April to their lowest in over a year as the market adjusted to higher purchase taxes. Earlier government data showed that British house purchases surged in March to take advantage of the final month of an exemption from stamp duty land tax for many buyers, before slumping in April when the tax reverted to its normal rate. Mortgage approvals – which are typically given at least a month before a purchase completes – fell to 60,463 in April from a downwardly revised 63,603 in March.
LONDON (Reuters) -The number of mortgages approved by British lenders for house purchase fell more than expected in April to their lowest in over a year as the market adjusted to higher purchase taxes. Earlier government data showed that British house purchases surged in March to take advantage of the final month of an exemption from stamp duty land tax for many buyers, before slumping in April when the tax reverted to its normal rate. Mortgage approvals – which are typically given at least a month before a purchase completes – fell to 60,463 in April from a downwardly revised 63,603 in March.
LONDON (Reuters) -The number of mortgages approved by British lenders for house purchase fell more than expected in April to their lowest in over a year as the market adjusted to higher purchase taxes. Earlier government data showed that British house purchases surged in March to take advantage of the final month of an exemption from stamp duty land tax for many buyers, before slumping in April when the tax reverted to its normal rate. Mortgage approvals – which are typically given at least a month before a purchase completes – fell to 60,463 in April from a downwardly revised 63,603 in March.
