Mortgage approvals up in January 2019

Mortgage approvals were up in January 2019 from the previous month (38.8k & 40.6k).

The U.K. Finance Mortgage Approvals, previously reported by the British Bankers’ Association, reports the number of new mortgages approved by high street banks during the prior month. It comprises more than half of the total U.K. mortgage market and thus provides information about the U.K residential property market.

Managing Director of One77 Mortgages, Alastair McKee, commented:

“While a monthly increase in mortgage approvals was to be expected given the seasonality involved, the jump has been fairly significant considering current market conditions, hitting the highest level in 16 months. Couple this with the positive annual growth and it makes encouraging reading for the UK property market.

Of course, this is just a proportion of the market and conditions remain tough moving forward. However, this unexpected revival in the level of buyer demand should help bolster a market that is currently relying on low-interest rates and inadequate stock levels to keep things ticking over.

Now is as good a time as any to take that first step onto the property ladder and I think UK buyers are finally waking up to this fact having grown bored of Brexit and the consistent delays and developments. With it looking like yet more delays are likely, we should hopefully see the property market follow suit with the current weather and spring back into life earlier than expected.”