There were 67,200 loan approvals for house purchases in June, up from 62,000 in May, according to the latest figures.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit report out today also shows 31,700 remortgages were approved in June, up from 29,600 in May.
The number of approvals for other purposes was just under 10,000, up from May’s 8,850.
June’s is the first upswing in approvals this year since a steady downhill slide from January, attributed to the new Mortgage Market Review lending rules introduced in April.
While all approvals for June are still well below their January peak, Mortgage Advice Bureau’s head of lending Brian Murphy says the mortgage market is looking up.
“We have seen approval volumes on a downwards trajectory for much of 2014 as attention has focused on phasing in the new lending rules.
“Regulators effectively pressed ‘pause’ on 18 months of gradual recovery, but the bounce-back in June suggests that mortgage market activity is now firmly on track.
“Homebuyers are leading the charge with the volume of purchase loans reaching a four-month high and exceeding the last pre-Mortgage Market Review total recorded in March.
“Remortgaging activity is trailing behind, but there is every chance this will change in the near future.”
