March brought record approvals for 18 months

May 8, 2024 by Brendan O'Neill

Surveys and Statistics

The number of residential mortgages approved during March went up for the sixth month in a row, with this latest rise taking them to their highest total for 18 months.

The net number of approvals during the month was 61,300. By contrast, the total number for the month before was 60,500. It marked the sixth successive month where the net number of approvals went up and is the highest number for a single month since September of 2022. The figures are taken from the Money and Credit report issued by the Bank of England.

However, while net residential mortgage approvals continue to go up in number, it is not the same story in other areas of the market. Remortgage approval numbers fell in March, to 34,200 compared with 37,700 for the month before.

Overall the picture for the mortgage market in March was healthy though. There was a rise in the gross lending total, which hit £20.1 billion. The figure for February was £18.6 billion. There was also a rise in the gross total repaid by borrowers. This amounted to £19.5 billion for the month, whereas in February it was £16.6 billion.

Talking to Financial Reporter, Tony Hall from Saffron for Intermediaries said:

“All eyes are now on when we might see that first base rate cut since the onset of the pandemic, which should drive more consumers back to the market.”

These figures indicate that mortgage advisors with CeMAP training are doing more business now than during last year.