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Mortgage approvals bounce back in January – Bank of England

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  • 01/03/2018
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Mortgage approvals bounce back in January – Bank of England
Mortgage approvals in January jumped to their highest levels since last summer, as the New Year kicked off with a bang, Bank of England figures showed.  

 

There were 67,478 mortgages approved at the start of the year, the highest number since August 2017.

And remortgages also increased from December levels to 49,242, according to the data.

The uplift is a welcome improvement in activity after approvals in the final month of 2017 hit a three-year low and remortgages also tumbled.

The Nationwide reported housing market activity continued to slow in February as consumer confidence and the squeeze on household incomes continues to take its toll.

However, on the finance side, Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Mortgage approvals rose in January for house purchase and remortgaging as borrowers continued to take advantage of cheap mortgage rates.

“Even though lenders may be repricing their fixed-rates upwards, there is no need to panic as they are doing so from a very low base.

“The threat of an interest rate rise, which seems a bit more real following comments from the Bank of England, is likely to focus minds when it comes to remortgaging.

“We therefore expect remortgaging numbers to continue to be strong in coming months as borrowers look to protect themselves by taking on a fixed rate.”

 

The Stamp Duty effect

 

Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, added: This is very encouraging for the mortgage market and suggests that the stamp duty cut introduced in November for first time buyers is starting to have an impact.

“As approvals are up for remortgaging too, this could be a result of borrowers taking advantage of the good rates on offer at the moment before any rate rises.

“The figures also suggest that the nervousness around the political climate has been over-egged.”

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