The housing market boom looks set to continue for some months yet as mortgage approvals for home purchases hit their highest level for 13 years.
The latest Money & Credit report from the Bank of England shows approvals are now 10 times the level seen during lockdown, and at their highest since September 2007.
Approvals for home purchase hit 91,500 in September, prompting optimistic comments from agents and other industry figures.
“Those expecting a correction in house prices or activity will be disappointed by these figures which are always a good indication of direction of travel” says Jeremy Leaf, the north London estate agent who is also a former RICS residential chairman.
“Unless buyers suddenly change course and cancel mortgage offers, most of these are likely to turn into transactions. Once again the market is proving its resilience despite growing uncertainties over additional [Coronavirus] restrictions and worsening economic news” he adds.
Tomer Aboody, director of MT Finance, says it’s directly because of high volumes of mortgage approvals that property prices are on the rise too.
“The feeling and concern is that buyers are feeding into an artificially strong market, which has been driven by historically low mortgage rates and a rush to complete transactions before the end of the stamp duty holiday in March” is his take.
Although there is much comment on the industry’s desire to see an extended stamp duty holiday, there are other ways to keep demand buoyant according to John Philips, national operations director at Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart.
“To keep the market cooking, now is the time for lenders to loosen their criteria, particularly for higher loan to value mortgages to allow first-time buyers to access the market. We are still seeing thousands of eligible borrowers being turned away as, despite stable income and proof they can pay credit reliably, they don’t have the 15 per cent deposit required to purchase their own home” he claims.
The Bank of England figures come on top of data from Lloyds Banking Group, which owns Halifax; between July and September it processed its highest number of home loans since 2008 as new mortgage lending increased by £3.5 billion.
The latest figures for mortgage approvals show demand as being relatively...
Lloyds Banking Group has issued a slightly more positive house price...
The number of mortgage approvals for home purchase hit a five-month...
The property market could be set for further upheaval when the...
The predictions game can be tricky. Sometimes you just don’t know...
Leading UK property auctioneer Bond Wolfe has broken through the £100...
Uncertainty triggered by the new Labour Government and taxation concerns that...
In today's rapidly evolving property market, the focus on reducing transaction...
.png)
An exciting new collaboration between TVPN, EstateApps and Paul Long is...
By Mike Bilboe, Face For Business Buying or selling a home can...
LSL Estate Agency Franchising is home to one of the UK’s...
.jpg){kind=logo}
B-hive Block Management Partners Celebrates Major Milestone With Over 100 Businesses...
.jpg)
Tell us a little bit about National Home Move. We are a...
If you’re thinking about becoming an Estate Agency franchise or converting...
Estate agents and lettings agents have a legal obligation to protect...
You don’t have to simply accept things as they are when...
From the uptick in house sales in January to a house price...
Happy birthday to us….and all members of the The ValPal Network! We...
With a combined value surpassing £7.4 trillion, the UK’s 29 million...
%20-%20IMAGE%20Client%20Accounting%20%E2%80%93%20what%20are%20your%20options.jpg)
The benefits for letting agents to outsource their client accounting is...
When almost all agents and developers use the tried and tested formula...
I think we can all agree that the National Trading Standards...
.png)
As domestic battery storage systems become increasingly prevalent in UK homes,...
.png)
A team from The ValPal Network joined industry Facebook ads expert...
.png)
In this interview, Riccardo Dawson, Chief Operating Officer at Alto and...
%20(002).png)
In today's fast-paced and ever-evolving property industry, it’s essential that forward-thinking...
A client account is essential to your lettings business, but the...
As electric vehicles increasingly populate our roads and the necessity for...
As estate agents, it is important to make sure that your...
Estate agency has changed. No longer is it required to sit in...
Changes to consumer behaviour usually arrive in waves. Most of the...
At iamproperty we are excited to share the announcement of our...
It’s no secret – 2023 is a difficult year for the...
In an exclusive interview with Estate Agent Today, Simon Coaker, Sales &...
2023 has been coined as ‘the year of AI adoption’, and...
%20(002).jpg)
There are a few common questions that arise when the issue...
As a signage company we know we have a serious responsibility...
The Government’s mini budget on September 23 was anything but ‘mini’...
Agent websites have become more crucial than ever in attracting new...
.png)
Who are you and what does it say on...
Who are you and what does it say on...
Who are you and what does it say on...
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
Is there is a rapidly increase gap between what a lender approves and what the final mortgage offer looks like? Its like two parts of their business aren't talking. When the application gets to underwriting, the lenders are being ultra cautious.
Housing bubble x COVID x Brexit = big hole in lending book in n years.
Never had so many mortgages pulled from proceeding buyers. There’s two sides to this story and this article only reports on the good half...
What is the point of a stat saying that mortgage approvals are 10 times what they were during lockdown! Of course they are, we was in lockdown!!
Rather than mortgage approvals mortgages completed is the only figure worth bothering with.
Any mortgage company can approve a far lower amount than required.
A buyer may not have the additional £30000 that a valuer has downvalued by.
Please login to comment