Living
U.K. Mortgage Approvals Post Best Year Since 2007 on Tax Cut
- Housing market defies troubles afflicting the wider economy
- Consumers repaid unsecured debt at record pace amid curbs
This article is for subscribers only.
U.K. lenders approved more mortgages in 2020 than in any year since before the financial crisis, as house hunters sought to take advantage of a temporary tax cut.
The stamp duty holiday, which allows buyers to save as much as 15,000 pounds ($20,000), propelled the housing market into high gear even as the coronavirus crisis sent the wider economy into its deepest slump for three centuries.