U.K. Lenders Approve More Mortgages Than Forecast

U.K. lenders approved more mortgages than economists forecast in September, signaling a slowdown in the housing market may not be as severe as some reports had indicated.

Lenders granted 47,474 loans to buy homes, compared with 47,498 in August, the Bank of England said today in London. Economists forecast approvals would decline to 46,000, according to the median of 17 estimates in Bloomberg News survey. Approvals are about half the peak of the property boom in 2007.