Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

Mortgage Approvals Fall as Gross Lending Drops to £25.9bn in July

Mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased by 3.6% to 56,100 in July, remaining below the six-month average of 60,800, according to Bank of England figures. Gross mortgage lending also fell from £26.9bn in June to £25.9bn in July, below the six-month average of £26.4bn.

Approvals for remortgaging increased slightly, rising from 34,100 in June to 34,500 in July. Repayments also saw a small increase to £21.3bn in July, up from £21.2bn in June, and remained above the six-month average of £20.8bn.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt by homeowners dropped to £4.3bn in July from £7.7bn in June, which is well below the previous six-month average of £5.3bn. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending stayed unchanged at 3.6% in July.

Mortgage rates on newly-drawn mortgages rose from 4.35% to 4.45% between June and July. The average mortgage rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages increased slightly from 3.96% to 3.97%.

These figures may be relevant for letting agents and inventory clerks monitoring market activity, as changes in mortgage approvals and lending can influence rental demand and property turnover.