Mortgage approval numbers recover after EU referendum lull

Bank of England figures showed 67,518 home loans were given the go-ahead, up from 63,594 in September and the highest number since March. Martin Beck, senior economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club, said: "Housing market activity faltered in the middle of the year, which is likely to reflect uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum and distortions caused by April's increase in stamp duty on second homes and buy-to-let properties. Ruth Gregory, UK economist at Capital Economics, said the figures "p