In October, 124,458 mortgages were approved, compared with 118,470 in September and 113,524 in August. Approvals for both house purchase and remortgaging saw monthly increases, rising to 67,518 and 43,513, respectively.
House purchase approval growth was particularly strong, up from 63,594 in September, while remortgaging increased from 42,606. The number of approvals for other purposes was 13,427, compared to the average of 12,726 over the previous six months.
Lending figures recovered from a dip in September, with loans totalling £19.9bn, up from £19.1bn a month earlier. Last month, the Bank’s figures for September showed that gross mortgage lending fell from £19.6bn, after seeing monthly rises since May.
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent, said the figures showed that short-term fears surrounding Brexit had been understated.
“Needless to say, the real test of the market will come in early 2017 when we will see whether or not these approvals have been translated into increases in sales,” he added.
“The figures are particularly welcome as at this time of year when people have other things on their mind and we expect a slowdown in the run up to Christmas. We wait with anticipation as to how people will respond in the new year. However, even with the festive season almost upon us there is still a determination among many to get on with buying and selling at realistic price levels.”
