The Bank of England has reported that the number of new mortgages approved for home buyers rose for the third month in a row in April.

Although the number of loans approved for existing home owners switching lenders or topping up existing mortgages fell, the number of new approvals rose to 43,201.

Completed sales in March and April were 35% up on February. Several bodies, including the Building Soicieties Association, have warned that while this is good news, the mortgage market remains a challenging one for home buyers and owners.