The number of British loan approvals for home purchases dropped 38 per cent in December on a year earlier, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said today.
The BBA said approvals - loans agreed but not yet made - fell to 40,201 last month from 64,563 a year earlier. That was also down from 47,245 in the prior month.
December marked the seventh consecutive monthly fall in approvals, although the figures are not adjusted to reflect seasonal patterns in the housing market - which means they can be volatile on a month-to-month basis.
The BBA said underlying mortgage lending was £5.2 billion last month.
"Despite an upturn in net mortgage lending in December, in part reflecting a processing catch-up, the general slowdown in demand over the last six months saw lending in 2004 matching 2003's increase of £62.3 billion," said BBA director of statistics Mr David Dooks.