Net mortgage borrowing by households was £3.7bn, close to the average of the previous three years.
The annual growth rate of mortgage lending remained stable at 3.1% in June, around the level that it has been at since 2016, the Bank of England Money and Credit Statistics have revealed.
Net mortgage borrowing by households was £3.7bn, close to the average of the previous three years. This followed a slightly weaker net flow of £2.9bn in May.
Craig Hall, head of broker relationships and propositions, Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “The annual growth rate for mortgage lending remains stable around 3% – where it’s been since late 2016.
“Despite wider uncertainty, this stability is an indicator that the mortgage market is in good health. Increased choice and competitive rates continue to encourage many homeowners to remortgage, with the low rate environment offering consumers great value.”
Mortgage approvals for house purchase, an indicator of future lending, increased by around 800 in June to 66,400 and the number of approvals for remortgaging rose slightly to 47,000.
Notwithstanding these small rises, mortgage approvals remained within the narrow ranges seen over the past three years.
Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, added: “The latest figures from the Bank of England show another picture of a fairly stable market, taken over the last three years.
“However, the interesting aspect is the rise in mortgage approvals for both purchase and remortgaging.
“When remortgaging has been the one thing that has held the market up for such a long time, it was surprising to see the number of purchases increase recently while remortgaging fell.We wait to see if this is a seasonal blip of whether the purchase market is truly beginning to make headway again.
“As things settle down in Parliament and we prepare ourselves for the next milestone, we will watch with interest to see how the market is affected and whether the confidence shown in June’s figurescontinues.
“It isof course,impossible to predict but, going on these figures, it may just be that this is the new normal.At least for a while.”
Tim Waterlow, development director of lifetime mortgage provider Responsible Lending, said: “Stability is the watchword for mortgage lending in June. It is clear that people are so used to political uncertainty that the resignation of a Prime Minister was never going to register.
“Brexit has not proven to have had a significant impact on the market, and a change of leadership has been noticed about as much as someone stepping off a bus.
“Lenders are still offering good rates, and the incentive is still there to move, grab the first rung on the ladder or lock in rates that are still relatively low by historic standards. Very few people are fazed any more by the political deadlock hogging the news agenda on our TV screens.”
Dave Harris,chief executive officer at equity release lender more 2 life,said that with the data showing that consumers arestill turning to credit cards and other forms of unsecured borrowing to help alleviate their financial worries, equity release could provide the solution.
He added: “So, as this generation steps into retirement with lower pension pots than their predecessors,it’s vital to ensure they are aware of all thelendingoptions available to them in later life,rather thanresorting to unsecured forms of borrowing or struggling to make unsustainable repayments,whichmay notbethe best option forthem.
“Instead, solutions like equity releasecan provide older homeownerswiththeextra incomeand flexibilitytheyrequireto meet their shiftingneedsin retirement.
“Specialist advisers have a key role to play hereinensuring thatthese borrowershaveaccess to the whole suiteof productsthatcanhelp boost their retirement incomeand, ultimately,relieve them of any financialconcerns.”
