Mortgage purchase approvals were down to 67,200 in October, from 71,900 in September, according to the latest Money and Credit statistics from the BoE.
Richard Pike, Phoebus Software sales and marketing director, said: “The problem for the market at the moment doesn’t appear to be appetite, it is rather one of supply.
"With Propertymark reporting an average of 24 buyers per home on the market it is becoming almost untenable. Add to that the fact that we are not building the number of homes we should be and the supply problem is, as ever, a huge stumbling block to the long-term health of the housing market.
“Nevertheless, the fact that the prospect of rising interest rates is not discouraging people from looking for a new home, is encouraging in itself. It will be interesting to see whether current appetite continues in the face of potential further coronavirus measures as the government assesses the threat from this new variant.”
