The property market has continued to improve during May with mortgage approvals rising to 43,414 up from the figure of the 43,191 in the previous month. This is now the fourth month in a row that approvals have risen with some experts suggesting that the rise will continue for the foreseeable future.

"Bank of England data suggests that mortgage approvals for house purchases only rose modestly in May," said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. "While mortgage approvals by banks actually rose by around 2,500, loans from building societies and other specialist lenders both fell during the month," he added.

The Building Societies Association (BSA) said approvals by its members in May were still about 35% lower than in May last year, proving that the property market is far from being fully recovered, but the growth in recent months is encouraging suggesting that the worst of the recession may be over with.