Bank of England Money & Credit - comment from LiveMore

01 March 2023

Simon Webb, managing director of capital markets and finance at LiveMore, said: “It’s no surprise that net lending fell in January as many of these mortgages would have started their journey around the time of the fallout from the infamous mini-Budget last September. Lenders were removing products and raising rates quite substantially which would have put off potential buyers.

“Another fall in house purchase mortgage approvals is not a good sign for the mortgage market going forward. This is the fifth consecutive month approvals have dropped and is almost half of the 74,400 that went through last August.

“Uncertainty remains in the housing market as supply and demand slows with less people looking to both buy and sell. Although mortgage rates are stabilising, there is no let-up in the high cost of living, which will put some people off making large financial commitments like buying a house.”