It estimates that a total of 66,083 loans (seasonally adjusted) were approved this month, higher than the 65,887 recorded in June, and 6.7 per cent higher than in July 2016.
The E.surv Mortgage Monitor is prepared from research analysing tens of thousands of valuations and uses these trends to extrapolate from the Bank of England’s mortgage data to publish mortgage approval numbers for the whole of the UK.
Small deposit
The proportion of loans granted to buyers with a small deposit (on 85 per cent or more loan to value) also increased between June and July, with 19.6 per cent of all mortgage loans going to this part of the market, up on the 18.5 per cent recorded in June.
Despite the improved performance, the ratio of small deposit buyers remains below the 2017 peak of 21.5 per cent – recorded in April. The most recent low was recorded in December 2016, when those with small deposits represented just 16.1 per cent of the market.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, commented: “The mortgage market is in a much happier place than 12 months ago when, in the aftermath of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, activity had stalled as buyers and sellers took a pause for breath.
“One year on and we have seen approval levels bounce back, with 6.7 per cent more loans agreed this July than there were in the month following the Brexit vote.”