Fewer mortgage approvals suggest the housing market in the UK still continues to struggle, new statistics suggest.

There is expected to be 30 per cent fewer mortgages this year than in 2008, which moneysupermarket.com believes is due to a number of factors.

It anticipates that low consumer confidence and a "lack of appetite to lend from the banks" are contributing to the problems, as is declining job security.

"With job security declining for many, we can’t expect floods of people to be looking to move house or buy their first property," states Louise Cuming, a representative of the website.

Those with little equity or deposit are likely to struggle most, it adds, with lenders now needing to focus less on equity and more on affordability to help boost the market.

Latest statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show one in 53 mortgages are now in arrears for three months or more, with 75,000 repossessions anticipated in this year alone.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the CML revealed there were 10,400 repossessions, equating to one in every 1,100 mortgages.