UK Mortgage Approvals Fall More than Expected

Net mortgage approvals for UK house purchases, a key indicator of future borrowing, decreased to 53,400 in September 2026, from 54,800 in August and below market expectations of 54,000. Approvals reached their lowest level since December 2023 and remained well below the previous six-month average, highlighting continued pressure from elevated borrowing costs. Approvals for remortgaging with a different lender increased to 42,600 in September, from 34,000 in August. The effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages increased to 4.63% in September, from 4.60% in August. The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 4.03% in September, up from 4.00% in August.

Net mortgage approvals for UK house purchases, a key indicator of future borrowing, fell to 54,900 in August 2026, down from a revised 55,900 in July and below market expectations of 56,100. Approvals reached their lowest level since December 2023 and remained well below the previous six-month average of around 60,100, highlighting continued pressure from elevated borrowing costs. Meanwhile, approvals for remortgaging with a different lender declined to 34,000 from 34,600. The effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages rose to 4.60% in August, from 4.45% in July, while the rate on the outstanding mortgage stock edged up to 4.00% from 3.97%.

Net mortgage approvals for UK house purchases, a key gauge of future borrowing, fell to 56,100 in July 2026 from a revised 58,200 in June, below market expectations of 59,400. Approvals dropped to their lowest level since January 2024 and remained well below the previous six-month average of around 60,800, pointing to continued pressure from elevated borrowing costs. Meanwhile, approvals for remortgaging with a different lender edged up to 34,500 from 34,100. The effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages rose to 4.45% in July from 4.35% in June, while the rate on the outstanding mortgage stock increased slightly to 3.97% from 3.96%.