Scotland: number of mortgages taken out at 16-year low

According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number of mortgages taken out in Scotland in 2009 was the lowest since records began in 1993, the BBC reports.

The figures show that 47,000 mortgages were approved in 2009 - 23% fewer than in 2008. However, in the final quarter of 2009, the number of mortgages taken out did increase.

A total of 14,200 mortgages were approved in the final quarter, marking a rise of 4% on the third quarter and an increase of 2,600 on the same period in 2008.

During the final quarter of the year, the increase in house purchase activity in the UK as a whole was 9% - five percentage points ahead of the figure from Scotland.

Meanwhile, as with the rest of the UK, remortgaging levels remained low in Scotland.

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