UK mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly last month, despite borrowers being hit by rising interest rates.
New data from the Bank of England shows that net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 54,700 in June, up from 51,100 in May. Economists had expected a fall to around 49,000.
Approvals for remortgaging rose from 34,100 to 39,100, suggesting homeowners tried to nail down new deals before rates hit new highs.
The BoE, which has raised interest rates 13 times in a row, reports that the ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest rate paid – on newly drawn mortgages rose again in June, up 7 basis points to 4.63% [from 4.56%].
The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages increased by 10 basis points, to 2.92%.
Today’s report also shows that net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals rose by £100m in June, after people repaid £100m in May and made record high net repayments of £1.1bn in April.
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