The number of mortgages approvals dipped slightly in December, new figures show, marking the first decrease in a year.
A seasonal fall in numbers saw a total of 59,023 loans approvals for house purchases during the month, down from 60,045 in November.
Economists had forecast another rise, up to 62,000. The net increase in mortgage lending also slowed to £1.165bn from £1.551bn, according to the Bank of England figures.
There was a slight pick-up in the number of people remortgaging, with mortgage approvals for people switching to a different house rising to 27,276, up from 25,619. Please click here for more details
