According to the Bank of England, net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 65,600 in September, the highest level since August 2022, when they hit 72,000
UK mortgage approvals have jumped to their highest level since before 2022’s mini Budget, official data showed on Tuesday.
According to the Bank of England, net mortgage approvals for house purchases increased to 65,600 in September, the highest level since August 2022, when they hit 72,000. Analysts had expected September’s approvals to be nearer 65,000.
Approvals for re-mortgaging also rose, increasing by 3,100 to 30,800.
September 2022’s so-called mini Budget, delivered by then prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, unnerved markets and sent mortgage rates soaring.
However, this year the housing market has benefited from a new government, mortgage rates coming off highs and the Bank of England cutting the cost of borrowing for the first time since 2020 in August.
Stephen Perkins, MD of broker Yellow Brick Mortgages, said: Demand picked up during the summer months as rates dropped. That momentum continued into September and throughout October, despite a slight uptick in (mortgage) rates.
Right now, it feels like the entire country is holding its breath and hoping to avoid a Truss-style catastrophe in the Budget, he said.
Once the Budget is behind us and the near-inevitable base rate cut in early November comes, it should be a strong end to the year, which will fuel a more resurgent property market during 2025, he said.
The Bank of England’s monthly money and credit report also showed that net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals dropped to £1.2 billion from £1.4 billion in August. As a result, the annual growth rate for all consumer credit dropped to 7.5% from 7.7%.
Household deposits with banks and building societies, meanwhile, climbed by £8.2 billion, including an additional £3.9 billion put into ISAs. This was despite the effective interest rate paid on individuals’ new time deposits with banks and building societies dropping by 6 bps to 4.31%.