Banks set for biggest mortgage lending period since 2007

High street banks agreed more than £50bn of mortgages to homebuyers in the first half of the year, up 10% on the first six months of 2018 and setting up lenders for their biggest year since 2007, according to data from UK Finance. The loans were offered to almost a quarter of a million homebuyers in the first six months, up 6% on the first half of 2018. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase rose to 42,653 in June, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, up from 42,407 in May and close to April’s two-year high of 42,792. Analysts said the spike in approvals could be attributed to the UK avoiding crashing out of the EU at the end of March. UK Finance added that gross mortgage lending in June was 4% lower than the same month last year, at £21.9bn, as a result of a dip in remortgaging.

The Daily Telegraph (24/07/2019)   The Times (24/07/2019)