Mortgage approvals rise for third successive month – Bank of England

House price growth may be down but mortgage approvals continue to rise.

The latest Bank of England data shows mortgage approvals on house purchases for July sat at 65,352 up 1.2%)from 64,571 in June. This signals three consecutive months of growth.

This has sparked some optimism in the market.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said:

“Mortgage lending for home purchase is up 3% on last year mirroring the steady increase in new sales being agree which have recovered over 2025 and lead mortgage approvals data.

“We expect a continued increase in demand for mortgages as sales continue to increase but the drift higher in average mortgage rates and concerns over property taxes at the upper end of the market may reduce activity in the next one to two months”

Colby Short, chief executive of GetAgent, said:

The latest rise in mortgage approvals will only bring further reassurance to the nation’s homebuyers and sellers that now is the time to act.

“The message we’re hearing from agents across the country is that buyer activity is building, and there’s a growing appetite to transact. It’s only a matter of time before this front-end demand starts to convert into transactions, further improving market health and helping to keep house price growth robust.”

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, added:

“We find many of our buyers and sellers regard the summer holidays as a time for reflection about their property and return ready to make decisions about whether to move or not. This year has proved no exception as shown in these solid mortgage approvals, covering buying aspirations over the past few months and so are a better indicator of market health than prices.

“As a result, the next quarter’s activity is likely to be strong. On the one hand, the amount of property stock has helped with agreed sales numbers though the amount of choice is slowing the pace of sales.

“The almost inevitable talk of tax increases on the horizon has resulted in some of our buyers deferring location decisions until the picture becomes clearer, possibly even after the Budget.”

Kindly shared by EstateAgentTODAY Image courtesy of Adobe