The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has announced the number of mortgages approved in the UK during July rose to a 17-month high, indicating the housing sector is improving.
There were 46,033 mortgage approvals for house purchases in July, beating the 44,802 approved in June. This figure is also 11 per cent higher than one year ago,
Remortgaging has also experienced strong growth, with the number of mortgages approved for it rising 29 per cent, reaching the highest figure in four years.
The rises could be due to the deals on offer as people anticipate the Bank of England finally raising its interest rate after more than six years of record-lows.
Richard Woolhouse, the BBA’s chief economist, said: “Savvy homeowners are snapping up competitive deals before an expected increase in interest rates. These figures show that thousands of us managed to tear ourselves away from the Ashes series to remortgage during July.”
However, the recent economic turmoil in China, a drop in oil prices and the strengthening of the pound have led to economic experts being unsure on the timing of raising the interest rate, as British price pressures are being kept in check.
