A number of mortgages were approved last month.

By Kings - Royal Tunbridge Wells, Estate Agents (Sales & Lettings) | Saturday, October 08, 2011, 13:41

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Data from the Building Societies Association (BSA) has revealed mortgage approvals and gross lending by mutuals continued to grow last month.

Statistics from August show there was a ten per cent rise compared with the previous month, marking a 16 per cent increase since August 2010.

Some £2.1 billion of mortgages were approved by mutuals last month, while there was a 16 per cent hike in lending for the first eight months of the year at a whole, bringing the total for this period to £14.6 billion.

Commenting, director-general Adrian Coles said: "Approval figures continue to look promising as consumers take advantage of the competitive mortgage rates currently offered by mutuals."

However, he warned a fresh deterioration in consumer confidence could spill into the housing market and cause further weakness.

Research from the BSA recently noted around 80 per cent of 18 to 24-year-old have said they are hopeful they will have bought their own home by the time they turn 30.