The Bank of England’s Money and Credit data showed there was a slight fall in remortgage approvals, with a drop of 600 to 37,200.
John Phillips, CEO of Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, said while there had been talk of a pre-Budget pause, “this isn’t the case for all borrowers”.
He said the rise in approvals showed there was still appetite and demand in the market.
Phillips said: “There’s no doubt we are seeing an element of wait-and-see right now, which hopefully gives way to some pent-up demand once the Budget is cleared and everyone knows the lay of the land.”
Jeremy Leaf, North London estate agent and a former Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) residential chair, said the figures showed that “prospective purchasers are setting aside concerns about new taxes in the Budget, for the time being at least”.
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“On the ground, we are seeing plenty of resilience and a grim determination to keep transactions running, even though they are becoming more protracted and often subject to some tough renegotiating,” Leaf added.
Mark Harris, chief executive of SPF Private Clients, said: “With mortgage approvals picking up again in September, the underlying resilience of the housing market is in evidence despite many challenges facing it.
“The good news for borrowers is that lenders are keen to lend and have the funds available to do so. Falling swap rates, which underpin the pricing of fixed rate mortgages, are encouraging some of the big names to reduce mortgage rates as they look to pick up more business before the year end.”
Average mortgage rates fall
The central bank recorded a seven-basis point fall in the average interest rate of newly drawn mortgages, standing at 4.19% in September. This was the lowest rate since January 2023, when it stood at 3.88%.
The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was unchanged at 3.89%.
Mortgage borrowing rises
In September, the value of gross mortgage lending came to £24.9bn, up from £23bn the month before. There was also a small rise in gross repayments from £20bn to £20.3bn.
The net borrowing of mortgage debt increased by £1.2bn to £5.5bn, the highest value since March this year. Meanwhile, the annual growth rate for net mortgage lending was at its highest since January 2023, standing at 3.2%.
