Housing research organisation Hometrack has said the latest Bank of England mortgage data for January shows surprising strength given recent economic data and consumer confidence measures. Total mortgage approvals (including remortgages) in January were 10% higher than last month and have now reversed the falls of the previous three months.

Although most of this rise is due to increasing remortgage volumes, house purchase volumes also rose slightly in the month. House purchase volumes have been on a declining trend throughout 2007 and this trend appeared to be accelerating in the fourth quarter.