Companies: PSN   

According to data from the Bank of England, mortgage lending surged to its highest levels in two and a half years in May at a shade over £9.3 billion, beating analyst forecasts of £9 billion and giving further indications that the housing market is in robust health.

The data also showed that the number of mortgage approvals rebounded from 106,000 in April to 117,000 in May, which suggests housing market activity should remain strong over the coming months.

A trading update from the UK’s biggest house builder Persimmon, ahead of its interim figures to the end of June, also cheered the sector. In another fruitful six months — smaller rival Westbury was bought in January — sales reservations on a like-for-like basis at the FTSE 100 player were up seven per cent and the group’s total sales to date in 2006 was £2.4 billion, up from £1.78 billion. Though still competitive, Persimmon claimed ‘the housing market continues to be active and is operating at a satisfactory level.’

Last month, Bank of England data revealed that consumer credit was stronger than expected at over £1.22 billion in May, up from £816 million in April, beating forecasts and total net lending stronger than it has been in nearly two years at £10.5 billion-plus.

Persimmon	LSE	£629.64m	209.75p	-6.00p
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