By Steven MacDonald What should we read into recent signs of a gradual recovery in the mortgage market? The answer is, it depends. Taking into account distortions caused by the work-from-home exodus from London and the cost of living and it looks like we may simply be returning to precedented times, says Steven MacDonald When it was announced mortgage approvals for February had hit a 17-month high, it seemed grounds for cautious optimism at least. The figures are heartening; the highest approvals since September 2022, beating economists’ expectations and effective interest rates down to their …