Housing blues: UK mortgage lending plummets to nine-month low

Mortgage approvals dropped to a nine-month low in June, while unsecured lending growth slowed further from last year's 11-year high.

Figures from the Bank of England published on Monday (31 July) reveal the number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to 64,684, down from 65,109 in May; the lowest since September last year in June.

Earlier in the year, the Bank of England predicted that mortgage approvals would average around 71,000 a month in the coming quarters.

Net mortgage lending - which lags mortgage approvals – rose 3.1% year-over-year by £4.149bn in June; representing the biggest rise since March 2016.

Concurrently, unsecured consumer lending slowed to 10.0% on an annualised basis in three months to June, from May's unexpectedly high 10.4%.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets on Thursday to provide its quarterly economic forecasts, following the conclusion of its rate-setting meeting.

The UK economy has had its slowest start to the year growing 0.2% and 0.3% respectively in the first two quarters of the year. Earlier this month, ratings agency Moody's said the UK economy was staring at a period of 'prolonged moderation'.