3rd Jan 2025 09:58
(Alliance News) - The number of mortgages approved in the UK dropped more than expected in November, figures on Friday showed.
According to Bank of England data, net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to 65,700 in November from 68,100 in October. However, approvals remained above their previous 12-month average of 60,400.
FXStreet consensus had expected mortgage approvals to edge up to 68,500.
Approvals for remortgaging decreased to 31,200 in November from 31,500 in October, but remained above their previous 12-month average of 30,000.
The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages decreased by 11 basis points, to 4.50% in November, the lowest since April 2023.
Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals fell by GBP1.0 billion to GBP2.5 billion in November, reversing an increase in net borrowing of GBP1.0 billion in October.
Net consumer credit borrowing by individuals was little changed at GBP0.9 billion in November, down from GBP1.0 billion in October.
Over the same period, net borrowing through credit cards decreased to GBP300 million in November from GBP400 million in October. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit (such as car dealership finance and personal loans) remained at GBP600 million in November.
Households' deposits with banks and building societies increased slightly by GBP200 million in November, following net deposits of GBP18.8 billion in October (which was the largest since December 2020, when it was GBP21.5 billion).
This was driven by households depositing an additional GBP3.4 billion and GBP1.7 billion into interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing sight accounts, respectively.
Households also deposited GBP2.0 billion into ISAs but withdrew GBP2.6 billion from interest-bearing time accounts.
Net borrowing of bank and building society loans by UK non-financial businesses increased to GBP6.0 billion in November, up from GBP3.2 billion in October.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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