UK mortgage approvals drop to their lowest level since late 2023
UK mortgage approvals fell to their lowest since December 2023 in September, while consumer credit growth hit its fastest pace since 2018, BoE data showed.
- published on Newsmetry
- original source published
the same feed is available to bots and dashboards through the api. connect the api →
what happened
Bank of England figures released on Thursday show British lenders approved 53,443 home-purchase mortgages in September, down from 54,814 in August and the weakest monthly total since December 2023. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a smaller drop, to about 54,000.
Net mortgage lending slid by more than forecast to £3.866 billion ($5.15 billion), its lowest reading since May. Meanwhile, unsecured household borrowing climbed 9.8% from a year earlier, the quickest pace since April 2018. The September increase was £1.914 billion, compared with a record £2.683 billion in August.
why it matters
Borrowing costs have jumped during the US-Iran conflict, feeding into mortgage pricing, and markets treat a Bank of England rate hike to 4% from 3.75% next week as close to certain. For sterling and gilts, the central bank decision is likely to matter more than the soft housing data.
market impact
Sterling and gilts: expected rate hike and costlier borrowing weigh on UK government debt
tags
instruments
sources
- UK lenders approve fewest mortgages since 2023 — Reuters, 29 October 2026 at 09:39 UTC
- UK lenders approve fewest mortgages since 2023 as borrowing cost rises — Reuters, 29 October 2026 at 10:09 UTC
prepared by the newsmetry newsroom with ai assistance from the sources listed below. not investment advice.
alerts on your topics, the morning digest and the api — in your account.
get stories in real time ↗