The Bank of England’s Money and Credit Report for October reveals a decrease in the number of net mortgage approvals, falling 600 to 65,000. Approvals for remortgaging fell by 3,600 to 33,100, the lowest since February.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said the slowdown was expected and activity is likely to improve.
“Borrowers may well have felt indecisive over securing a mortgage during October,” she suggested. “However, the slowdown of activity came at a time when many borrowers felt uncertain surrounding the outcome of the budget, and now that it’s been revealed, activity could pick up as we edge closer to the year end.”
“Lenders will have their own targets to hit and will no doubt be working hard to entice new business, which has been evident over the past month.”
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said the lull was understandable. He added:
“…it is now time to concentrate on ensuring the housing market is fully empowered for already anticipated population growth, via assembling a skilled workforce and supply chain to deliver on housing targets across each nation in what is already demand timeframe to achieve.”
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said buyers are likely to return to the market after the budget, where they’d find favourable conditions:
“They will be able to benefit from lower mortgage rates too. They fell in October, and have been on their way down since as lenders have been pricing in a potential cut in December… The pick-up in interest may persuade more first-time buyers to make a move.”
