Mortgage approvals have dropped to an all-time low, new central bank statistics show.
Fewer mortgage loans were approved in April than at any time since records began, the Bank of England has said.
The central bank figures show that 58,000 mortgages were granted for house purchase over the 30 days, which is the lowest number since the survey started in 1993. It also represents just half of the loan approvals approved in April 2007, and is an eight per cent drop from the previous month's figure.
Analysts have blamed the mortgages slowdown on the credit crunch - the global financial crisis which has resulted in many lenders withdrawing products and raising the rates of those that are kept on the market. Recent figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk, for example, show that the number of mortgage deals on sale in the UK has shrunk by 60 per cent in recent months, leaving consumers with less choice than before.
Commenting on the Bank's survey, Simon Rubinsohn at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that this trend was set to continue in months to come.
"Lenders are continuing to tighten up on the conditions accompanying new loans making it hard for first-time buyers to take advantage of the modest fall in house prices seen over the part few months," he said.
"A collapse in transactions of this magnitude has major implications both for consumer spending and a wide range of ancillary industries."
