People applying for a mortgage in 2024 have been warned after approvals took a dip. According to the latest Bank of England data, mortgage approvals for house purchases in April were 61,140, down marginally from 61,263 in March.
Alistair Singer, director of My Home Move Conveyancing, said: “Another strong month of mortgage approvals demonstrates that buyer confidence is building despite the fact that interest rates are yet to come down. With a cut expected in the coming months, we should see a further surge in activity as buyer confidence is bolstered by the first reduction to interest rates in four years.
“With a stable and strengthening housing market, any election activity is unlikely to have a material impact on momentum. Indeed, depending on the outcome, we often get a post-election bounce so we expect the market to strengthen further as the year progresses.
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“Although it’s important to note that as the market does heat up, the time it takes to transact is likely to increase as higher demand puts strain on operational efficiency and market capacity including the conveyancing process.” Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter said: “Property transaction statistics produced by HMRC tell a slightly rosier picture.
“The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of the number of UK residential transactions in April 2024 is 90,430, 10 per cent higher than in April 2023 and five per cent higher than in March 2024. But we must remember that it is 10 per cent higher than a very low base given that there were comparatively few transactions last year.”
Experts think the Bank of England is likely to cut interest rates in August or September, while headline inflation eased to 2.3% in the 12 months to April 2024, down from 3.2% in the 12 months to March. According to Moneyfacts, at the end of January the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage cost 5.56%, rising to 5.92% by the end of May.