The value of approved loans for house purchase jumped 4% to hit £10.5bn in October, while the value of remortgage approvals remained roughly steady at £5.3bn. The total value of approvals grew 1.25%.
In total, there were approvals for 115,722 loans secured on dwellings in October. Of these, 67,701 were approvals for house purchase, compared to an average of 60,685 over the previous six months.
Mortgage Advice Bureau head of lending Brian Murphy said the value of mortgage approvals has almost caught up with last year’s total, despite two months still to go: “Any fears that waving goodbye to the Funding for Lending Scheme will end this ‘golden age’ of mortgage rates should be offset by a calming effect on house price growth.
“No-one wants to see buyers priced out of the market, and in that respect the Bank has sent a clear message that it’s on mortgage borrowers’ side and wants to keep the market simmering rather than boiling over.
“With increasing numbers looking to make a move in the near future, a five and a half year high for mortgage approvals is just the encouragement they need.”
