Mortgage approvals sink to lowest level in two years

Mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in two years as interest rate rises put off buyers, new Bank of England figures suggest. They slumped to just over 46,000 in November. This is down from 57,875 in October and 68,969 in November 2021 – a 33% fall year-on-year. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a more buoyant total of 55,000, despite the turmoil in the housing market after the September mini-budget. Remortgaging approvals fell 37% in November compared to the previous month, and down 30% compared to November 2021. The value of net mortgage debt owed by individuals in November increased from £3.6bn to £4.4bn. “The sharp fall in house purchase mortgage approvals in November comes as no surprise, given the tentative fall in quoted mortgage rates from October's high levels and the withdrawal of some lenders in the wake of the mini-budget,” Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said. 

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