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Bloomberg
UK mortgage approvals fell to a seven-month low in a sign the housing market is slowing, though Britons are continuing to take advantage of low interest rates to take on unsecured debt.
Lenders approved 64,645 home loans in April, the fewest since September and below the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Mortgage lending grew 2.7 billion pounds, the least since April 2016, the figures from the Bank of England show. But consumer credit rose 1.5 billion pounds, little changed from the previous month, pushing annual growth to 10.3 percent from 10.2 percent.
The fall in mortgage approvals is consistent with the slowdown in the housing market seen in recent months. Prices declined 0.2 percent in the three months through April, their first quarterly decline in more than four years, according to lender Halifax. The unsecured-lending data suggest consumers may be relying on debt to finance their spending as faster inflation eats into their purchasing power. Households are now saving less than at any time on record.
In a separate report on Wednesday, GfK said the full impact of the squeeze on purchasing power has “yet to hit home†after its monthly index of confidence rose modestly this month. Lending to non-financial firms rose 1.8 billion pounds in April. Nonresident investors bought a net 1.9 billion pounds of gilts following purchase of 218 million pounds in March.