UK Mortgage Approvals Fall to 5-Month Low

2026-01-05 09:40 By Agna Gabriel 1 min. read

Net mortgage approvals for house purchase in the UK fell by 500 to 64,500 in November 2025, the lowest in five months but above market expectations of 64,400.

Uncertainty around new taxes on high-value homes and broader fiscal changes weighed on housing sentiment, alongside a surprise fall in house prices.

By contrast, approvals for remortgaging, which only capture remortgaging with a different lender, rose by 3,200 to 36,600 in November.

The ‘effective’ interest rate on newly drawn mortgages increased for the first time since February 2025 (4.53%), to 4.20% in November from 4.17% in October.

The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 3.90% in November, up from 3.89% in the previous months.



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