Mortgage approvals hit 13-year high

UK monthly mortgage approvals hit a near 13-year high in August supported by the release of pent-up demand as consumers resumed spending and the government’s stamp duty holiday. Home loan approvals for August were 84,700, the highest rate of approvals since October 2007, according to the new data from the Bank of England; but the increase in approvals only partially offset weaknesses in mortgage lending in the Spring. So far this year, 418,000 mortgages have been approved, below the 524,000 approved in the same period last year. The data suggest that mortgage approvals “will remain well above trend for at least another couple of months”, said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The Times (29/09/2020)   City AM (29/09/2020)