UK mortgage approvals soar to highest level since before 2008 Global Financial Crisis
UK banks signed off on more than 100,000 new mortgages in November, the most since the start of the Global Financial Crisis in August 2007.
The new home lending defied expectations of a slowdown in the housing market boom that started after the first Covid-19 lockdown.
Bank of England this morning showed UK banks approved 104,969 mortgages in November, up from 98,338 in October.
Effective interest rates on new mortgage borrowing ticked up to 1.83 per cent.
This was despite England being in a national lockdown for most of November.
Consumer credit, such as credit cards and overdrafts, continued to fall at a record pace, as many Brits repaid credit card debt and had fewer options on where to splurge as hospitality and holidays largely ceased during the month.
Net consumer lending dropped by £1.54bn in November, around 6.7 per cent lower than in November 2019, the biggest drop since monthly records began in 1994.
British house prices rose faster than expected in December to record their biggest annual increase in six years, up 7..3 per cent, ccording to Nationwide data last week.
After a collapse in house purchases during the first months of lockdown, there has been a surge in demand to move house, driven in part by a temporary exemption of Stamp Duty which will expire on 31 March.