New mortgage approvals continue to rise
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has produced July mortgage approval figures for the UK’s High Street lenders, showing approvals for house purchases up 7.4% on a month earlier, to 38,181.
The figure has now risen for the seventh consecutive month.
However, while both the number of mortgage approvals and the amount of new lending increased, the results were below seasonal expectations.
Net mortgage lending (which offsets repayments and redemptions) was at its lowest since October 2000, having risen a mere £1.6 billion in July, compared with a six month average of £2.9 billion.
Remortgaging activity remained flat, as borrowers continued to opt for existing lenders’ standard variable rates at the end of fixed-rate deals, and equity release and other withdrawals tailed away in July.
The BBA’s statistics director, David Dooks, comments: “The numbers of mortgages approved for house purchase each month by the high street banks have continued to recover from last November’s low point, but new lending is largely being offset by repayments, so that net rises remain relatively weak.”
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