Mortgages reach three year high

Mortgage soared to a three year high in November, the Bank of England reported.

Total mortgage lending jumped to £9.8bn, while the number of new mortgage approvals rose to 129,000 in November from 128,000 in the previous month, the highest since December 2003.

With the continued rise in the housing market an increasing number of first-time buyers borrowing from their parents. About 14,000 people a year are remortgaging their homes to release an average of £74,000 to help relatives get on the property ladder.

After a steady rise from 107,000 to 127,000 new mortgages between April and September, the numbers have stabilised in the last two months with fears of interest rate rises.