New data from the Bank of England has shown mortgage approvals in the UK to jump to a nine-year high last month.
In October, the number of mortgages approved increased to 67,086. In the same month, consumer borrowing fell to 7.5% – the slowest level since March 2015.
EY Item Club analyst Howard Archer said: “Mortgage approvals for house purchases have essentially been locked in a 63,000-68,000 range for the past two years.”
“Consequently, October’s rise does not materially change our perception that the housing market is still finding life tough in the face of still limited consumer purchasing power, fragile consumer confidence and wariness over higher interest rates.”
In the most recent month, households borrowed an extra £4.1 billion against thier homes.
Jeremy Leaf, the Former Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyor (RICS) residential chairman and estate agent, said: “Surprisingly perhaps, we have seen a pick up in enquiries over the past few weeks and sense that there is a feeling among buyers and sellers that they are fed up with sitting on the sidelines and not prepared to put off their moving decisions for much longer.”
Earlier this week, UK Investor Magazine reported on the signs of recovery in the Aberdeen housing market, where house prices have increased for the first time in two years.
“The upturn in Aberdeen is great news after a prolonged difficult period, and is hopefully an indicator that we are beginning to see the northeast emerge from one of its most testing downturns,” said Jacqueline Law, the managing partner at Aberdein Considine.
The Bank of England also reported the consequences of a no-deal Brexit scenario on Thursday. Read more here.