UK mortgage approvals hit highest level since February 2014
British mortgage approvals edged higher in July, reaching their highest level since February, figures released on Tuesday showed.
According to the Bank of England (BoE), mortgage approvals for house purchases rose from 67,069 in June to 68,764 in July, a figure that exceeded analysts’ expectations, while net mortgage lending jumped by 2.709bn, the biggest increase since July 2008.
The figures point to a sustained recovery in the UK housing market, after the number of approvals declined throughout most of last year.
“Record-low mortgage rates, the strong outlook for households’ real incomes and banks’ increased willingness to lend all suggest that mortgage approvals will continue to recover, pushing house prices up further over the next six months,” said analysts at Capital Economics.
The BoE added consumer credit grew by £1.17bn in July, a slight pull-back from the £1.23bn rise in the previous month but rose 7.5% year-on-year, the biggest increase since April 2006.
Meanwhile, lending to non-financial businesses rose £734m after falling £5.48bn in the previous month.