The British Bankers' Association (BBA) yesterday released figures showing that the number of mortgage approvals in July rose 7.4% on June and 77% on the same month in 2008.

At the same time, housebuilders Bovis Homes said there were signs the property market was stabilising.

On the surface this is good news, but caution still remains, with Bovis themselves nervous about the impact of rising unemployment on property prices and the BBA's statistics director David Dooks saying "It is a different marketplace to where we have been in the past", referring to banks' more cautious approach to lending.

Interest rates remain at an all time low, but banks are not keen on passing them on to customers and fixed rates remain at a level that rules out many first time buyers from the market.