Bank of England figures show uptick in mortgage approvals
January 22, 2024
The Bank of England has released mortgage approval figures in its monthly Money and Credit statistical release.
Mortgage lending to individuals was at net zero in November compared to £0.1 billion of net repayments in October. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending reached 0.3% in November, the lowest since the monthly series began in March 1994. Gross lending increased from £15.9 billion in October to £16.6 billion in November, while gross repayments decreased from £17.2 billion to £15.6 billion over the same period.
Net approvals for house purchases, which is an indicator of future borrowing, rose from 47,900 in October to 50,100 in November (see Chart 1). Net approvals for remortgaging (which only capture remortgaging with a different lender) increased from 24,000 in October to 27,000 in November.
The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages rose by 9 basis points to 5.34% in November. Similarly, the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages saw a 7-basis point increase, from 3.20% in October to 3.27% in November.
The Bank of England will announce its next decision on interest rates on Thursday 1st February 2024.
You can view the full statistical release below in the sources section.
Sources
Bank of England: Money and Credit, November