The number of mortgage approvals was largely flat between September and October, falling by 0.7% month-on-month, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from e.surv.
Approvals fell sharply following June’s EU referendum but have held strong in subsequent months.
A total of 62,522 house purchase mortgages (seasonally adjusted) were approved in October. However, this figure is well down on the 72,409 recorded at the same point last year, an 11.1% drop.
October 2016’s figure also remains well below this year’s peak of 72,512, recorded in February, although this figure was boosted by buyers making house purchases before April’s stamp duty tax changes.
Despite the number of approvals falling, the proportion of loans made to borrowers with a deposit of less than 15% remains above the level seen a year ago. The survey found 16.7% of all loans were made to this part of the market in October, slightly higher than the 16.5% reported 12 months ago.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “It seems safe to say that fears of a post-Brexit collapse in the mortgage market were unfounded. While activity is down compared to earlier in the year, approvals show no signs of falling further. There is however a higher proportion of re-mortgage lending than earlier in the year.
“Super low mortgage rates continue to lure new buyers into the market. The good news for first-time buyers is that they are not being disproportionately hit by the drop in approvals. In fact, as a proportion of the whole market, more buyers with small deposits are getting onto the housing ladder than at the same point a year ago.”
