The Bank of England has released lending figures for June which show net mortgage approvals for house purchases remained stable during the election period at 60,000, which is close to pre-pandemic levels.
Damage
Estate agents welcomed the news, with Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark saying: “Today’s figures show that the general election did not damage people’s confidence in borrowing money to purchase their next home in the way many may have anticipated.”
Simon Gammon, Managing Partner, Knight Frank Finance, believes the figures also point to a brighter outlook, saying: “Repeated false dawns in the battle against inflation have left the property market stuck in first gear, but it’s now very likely that we’ll have a busier second half of the year.”
He adds: “The mortgage lenders have cut margins to the bone in the battle for market share, and this pattern should continue as the Bank of England offers some relief in the form of reductions to the base rate. The first Bank of England rate cut, whether it arrives on Thursday or perhaps in September, will provide a big boost to sentiment, which has improved for several months already.
“All the signals point to a slow and steady recovery.”
Emerson adds: “Now we have a newly elected government that is ambitious about building new homes, we hope that confidence increases further in the housing market.
“[We are also] keen to see further confidence boosts with the Bank of England considering a cut in interest rates when they feel this is the right time to do so.”
