Bank of England – Mortgage approvals down in August
The latest figures show that: –
Mortgage approvals on house purchases for August sat at 64,680 down (-0.7%) from 65,161 in July. This brings three consecutive months of growth to a stop.
Approvals are also down slightly (-0.5%) when compared to the 64,983 seen in August 2024.
This reflects a quieter summer period, while there is still optimism for a return to growth in the coming months, especially if bank rate cuts materialise.
Stephanie Daley, Director of Partnerships at mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, commented:
“While mortgage approvals have dipped slightly on a monthly basis this is almost certainly down to summer seasonality and the broader picture remains one of resilience, with activity consistently holding above the 60,000 threshold for well over a year.
This level of consistency highlights that underlying buyer demand is strong, and recent incentives, such as the decision to make the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme permanent and adjustments to loan-to-income caps, are helping to improve accessibility and affordability across the market.
At the same time, major lenders have already started to respond with more flexible criteria, enabling more buyers to secure the finance they need. Looking ahead, the outlook for the remainder of the year remains positive, and we expect these supportive measures to underpin continued buyer activity.”
Jonathan Samuels, CEO of specialist lender Octane Capital, commented:
“A marginal month on month dip in approval numbers suggests that buyer appetites remain robust, however, the challenge facing the market at present isn’t a lack of intent on the side of homebuyers, but this intent translating into action.
We’re simply not seeing buyers commit which has led to a surplus of stock and, as a result, sellers are finding transaction timelines increasingly lengthy and fraught with potential pitfalls.
This has driven an increase in fall-throughs, with many buyers and sellers seeing chains collapse at the eleventh hour. In these circumstances, we’ve seen a growing number of residential sellers turn to the specialist finance sector to secure bridging loans, helping them to protect their onward purchase and keep transactions on track.
This highlights the critical role that specialist lending plays in today’s market, providing the flexibility and certainty required to overcome obstacles that the mainstream mortgage process often cannot resolve.”
Colby Short, Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent, commented:
“Mortgage approvals dipped slightly in August, putting an end to three straight months of upward growth. However, a seasonal slowdown in mortgage market activity is hardly surprising given the distraction of the summer sun and the school holidays, which tend to slow productivity across many areas of life.
The broader picture, however, remains one of consistency and with an improving mortgage landscape offering more products, sharper rates, and greater flexibility, demand is being well supported.
The latest hold on the base rate will only help to steady the ship as we head into a traditionally busy time of year, leaving the market well positioned for a late surge to the finish line in 2025.”
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