Net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 50,100 in November 2023, a report from the Bank of England has revealed.
The report, Money and Credit - November 2023, said this was an increase on the 47,900 approvals recorded in October.
Additionally, net approvals for remortgaging similarly increased, rising from 24,000 in October to 27,000 in November.
These findings did not come as a surprise to Brooklyns Financial director, Harps Garcha, as she commented: “This data matches what we saw on the ground.
“We experienced a surge in demand for both purchases and remortgages in November, and this trend continues in December and into the first week of 2024.”
However, Perenna founder and CEO, Arjan Verbeek cautioned that, while house mortgage approvals rose, they remain “well below” the long-term average.
Savills director of research, Emily Williams shared a similar sentiment, stating: “Mortgage lending for house transactions rose slightly month-on-month in November, but were still down 26 per cent against the pre-pandemic normal level of activity.”
Additionally, Verbeek added that the figures omit the fact that many would-be buyers are still “excluded” from the market due to affordability concerns.
“For most young adults, buying a home still feels unattainable,” he explained.
To address this, Verbeek advised that regulators and the government should “build the foundations” for a fairer housing market.
This would involve placing the same weight and importance behind flexible long-term fixed mortgages as the incumbent short-term fixed rate products.
Lending and interest rate
The report also found that mortgage lending to individuals was at net zero in November compared to £0.1bn of net repayments in October.
The Boe also found the “effective” interest rate, or the actual interest paid, on newly drawn mortgages rose by 9 basis points to 5.34 per cent in November.
Similarly, the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages saw a 7 basis point increase, from 3.20 per cent in October to 3.27 per cent in November.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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