Mortgage approvals drop in November, BoE finds

Net mortgage lending and the number of mortgage approvals both fell in November, the Bank of England (BoE) has revealed in its latest money and credit statistics report.

The BoE found that net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals fell by £1bn to £2.5bn, following an increase of £1bn in October.

Net mortgage approvals for house purchase reached 65,700 in November, a decrease of 2,400, while approvals for remortgaging with a different lender fell by 300, to 31,200.

However, these figures are still above the averages of 60,400 and 30,000, respectively, in November 2023.

Despite these drops, the BoE reported that the annual growth rate for net mortgage lending increased to 1.3% in November, up from 1.1% in October. This is continuing the upward trend that has been observed since April 2024.

Furthermore, gross lending increased to £20.7bn in November, an increase of £400m from October, while little changed in gross repayments at £18bn.

The effective interest rate paid on newly drawn mortgages decreased by 11 basis points to 4.5% in November, the lowest rate since April 2023.

However, the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages increased slightly month-on-month to 3.78% to 3.8% in November.

Chief executive officer at Propertymark, Nathan Emerson, commented: "The impact of higher interest rates without doubt has had a profound impact across the housing market.

"Consumers need to feel a degree of confidence within their financial position to approach the buying and selling process, and it is essential that aspects such as inflation are managed robustly to keep long-term stability across the economy, which is needed for a healthy and secure housing market."



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