U.K. mortgage lending jumped by nearly 3000 in August, the most since before the financial crisis, according to new data released by the Bank of England on Tuesday.
With a rate hike looming, customers hoping to take advantage of current interest rates have fuelled demand and mortgage approvals for house purchases totalled 71,030 in August, beating expectations and up on July’s figure of 69,010. Net lending on property rose by £3.4 billion.
This is the latest in a string of economic data suggesting that Britain’s housing market is hotting up. According to Rightmove, asking prices for U.K. homes hit national records in September; and although the market suffered a temporary dip last year when new government rules on mortgage lending came into force, it appears to have got back on track with mortgage approvals rising consistently for most of this year.
