Following a boom in the UK housing market last year after the stamp duty holiday, data from November showed a return to more ‘normal territory’.
Mortgage approvals for residential property purchases showed stability when compared with October. The Bank of England’s Money and Credit statistics showed that in November, 66,964 mortgage approvals were issued. This was only slightly lower than in October, when 67,103 were issued.
Meanwhile, 44,529 remortgage approvals were agreed in November, and 41,978 in October.
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent, said: “These figures show that the housing market is moving into more ‘normal territory’ as mortgage approvals return close to their pre-Covid averages.
“Certainly we are finding in our offices much the same pattern as buyers and sellers shrug off the loss of the stamp duty holiday and get down to business in the new year, especially as supply and demand are beginning to match up more closely.”
The data from the Bank of England also shows that net borrowing of mortgage debt increased to £3.7bn in November, from £1.1bn in October.
The net borrowing in November was however £2.9bn lower than the 12-month average to June 2021, when the full stamp duty holiday was still available. Gross lending increased to £22.1bn in November, from £19.5bn in October.
Joshua Elash, director of MT Finance, commented: “These are positive numbers for the property and mortgage sectors as we kick-off the new year, with the Bank of England reporting that mortgage debt for individuals increased to £3.7bn in November. This tells the story of a market finding its feet after the end of the stamp duty holiday in September which led to October’s significant drop.
“Approvals for house purchases are also now close to the 12-month average up to February 2020. Approval for remortgaging remains low although we expect this to bounce significantly in the coming months as consumer concern over a rising base rate will persuade more borrowers to tie themselves into a fixed rate on a longer-term basis.
“December’s data is likely to be stronger yet, although it will be interesting to see how the now seasonal concerns over another lockdown may have dampened the momentum of the bounce back.”
Original article featured here…
Mt Finance recently appointed their first non-executive director, Chris Patrick. In his new role, Chris will assist with MT Finance’s growth plans, focusing on funding strategy, ESG initiatives and technology.