In October 62,522 house purchase mortgages were approved, 11% fewer than the 72,409 recorded in the same month last year.
Mortgage activity is lagging behind last year in terms of approvals according to e.surv chartered surveyors’ mortgage monitor report.
In October 62,522 house purchase mortgages were approved, 11% fewer than the 72,409 recorded in the same month last year.
Approvals dropped after the UK voted to leave the European Union but have stayed broadly flat since, with October approvals falling by 0.7% from September.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “It seems safe to say that fears of a post-Brexit collapse in the mortgage market were unfounded.
“While activity is down compared to earlier in the year, approvals show no signs of falling further. There is however a higher proportion of re-mortgage lending than earlier in the year.
“Super low mortgage rates continue to lure new buyers into the market. The good news for first-time buyers is that they are not being disproportionately hit by the drop in approvals.
“In fact, as a proportion of the whole market, more buyers with small deposits are getting onto the housing ladder than at the same point a year ago.”
