- Building society gross advances amounted to £3,409 million in April 2005, compared to £4,009 million in April 2004.
- Net advances were £1,299 million in April 2005, down from £1,540 million in April 2004.
- Approvals (loans agreed, but not yet made) decreased slightly to £3,880 million in April 2005, from £4,058 million in April 2004.
- In the savings market, building societies had net inflows of £1,419 million in April 2005, up from £1,055 million in April 2004.
- Building society net receipts into cash ISAs were £1,627 million in April 2005.
Commenting on the mortgage market, Adrian Coles, Director-General of The Building Societies Association, said: “Mortgage lending has clearly stabilised. After the fall-back in lending over the past year there has been a slight recovery in April (to the highest level since last August on a seasonally adjusted basis). All the signs are that the market has successfully achieved a soft landing.”
On the savings side Mr Coles said: “April traditionally sees a significant inflow into building society savings accounts, as a result of the end of one ISA investment year and the beginning of another. Even so April 2005 was an outstanding month for building societies, with net inflows at their highest for four years. Equity markets remain uncertain and competitive interest rates make building societies an attractive home for savings.”
