UK mortgage approvals have fallen to their lowest level since May 2015 in the run-up to the referendum, new figures show.
According to the Bank of England, the number of loan approvals for house purchase was 64,766 in June, compared to the average of 69,998 over the previous six months.
The Bank’s Money and Credit report showed that mortgage lending fell from £11.6 billion in May to £11.2 billion in June.
The number of approvals for remortgaging was 43,102, compared to the average of 41,592 over the previous six months.
Jonathan Harris, director of mortgage broker Anderson Harris, said: “Now the vote is out of the way but we are into the summer when you would expect to see lower volume of transactions as everyone heads off on their holidays.
“September’s data will give a much better indication of how recent events have impacted the housing market – we would normally expect an increase in approvals for house purchase as people return from their summer holidays and start making decisions again but we will see.
“It looks likely that the next move in interest rates will be downwards, perhaps as early as next week. Mortgage rates are already exceptionally low and this is won’t change anytime soon, which should help support activity in the market.”
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said in a recent report that uncertainty fuelled by the EU referendum has resulted in house sales plummeting, with enquiries from buyers at their lowest since the financial crisis in 2008.
UK house prices edged up slightly in July. Figures from Nationwide show that property prices rose 0.5% during June to a new record high of £205,715. However, the lender said it was still too early to determine the impact of the referendum on house prices.
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