July saw steady growth in mortgage lending according to UK Finance

The latest UK Finance’s Household Finance Update for July 2018 reveals:

Gross mortgage lending for the total market in July was £24.6bn, some 7.6 per cent higher than a year earlier.

The number of mortgage approvals by the main high street banks in July fell by 0.8 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier. Within this, remortgaging approvals were 2.8 per cent higher than for the same period a year earlier. There was a fall in house purchase and other secured borrowing of 0.6 per cent and 11.7 per cent respectively.

Commenting on the data, Peter Tyler, Director at UK Finance, said:

“July saw steady growth in gross mortgage lending, driven largely by remortgaging as homeowners locked into attractive deals in anticipation of the recent base rate rise.

“Card spending has also strengthened, reflecting increased expenditure during the holiday period and an uplift in retail sales due to the World Cup and warm weather.

“However the broader economic outlook remains mixed, with households continuing to see their incomes being squeezed by rising inflation. This may explain the shift towards deposits held in instant access accounts, as consumers opt to keep their money close to hand.”

Source of information UK Finance.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Building Safety Approval Process Urgently Needs Fixing

Bradley Lay, a Leading Construction M&A Expert Calls on Government to Urgently Fix Building Safety Approval Process as Insolvencies Surge A leading UK construction expert has called on the Government to urgently reassess the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approval process, warning that delays in the current system are “slowly killing the economy”, triggering thousands of…
Read More
Breaking News

Kickstarting Private Housebuilding is Key to Sector-Wide Recovery

Starts on-site decline by 9% during the three months to January 2026, remaining 16% below 2025 levels Residential construction starts fell by 24% on the preceding three months and 32% against 2025 figures Non-residential project-starts increased by 6% against the preceding three months, finishing 7% up on a year ago Civils work starting on-site remained…
Read More
Social Housing 2019
Estate Agent Talk

Building the Wrong Homes Won’t Fix Homeownership

For many years, the national discussion about affordable housing has focused on one appealing idea that simply building more houses will make it easier for first-time buyers to own a home, and the issue will fix itself. However, Propertymark’s member agents, working daily in local housing markets across the UK, see a far more complex…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Compliance uncertainty leaves lift fire safety exposed in property sector

As the FM industry continues to adjust to an evolving regulatory landscape, new research indicates that widespread uncertainty and fragmented record-keeping could be undermining lift fire safety compliance, weakening building fire strategies. Last month, the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) became a standalone public body, separating from the Health and Safety Executive to provide a more…
Read More
Breaking News

London rent affordability improves

The latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, reveals that the average London renter is spending 50% of their income on rent each month. However, the good news is that strong wage growth in the capital means that this proportion has actually reduced since 2024. Bennham and Reeves has analysed average…
Read More
Breaking News

Liverpool leads as busiest estate agency markets

Liverpool, Bradford and Leicester lead as Britain’s busiest estate agent markets in 2026 The latest research from eXp UK has revealed that Liverpool, Bradford and Leicester are currently the busiest markets for Britain’s estate agents when it comes to the estimated number of homes listed for sale per agent in 2026. eXp UK analysed the…
Read More