UK Mortgage Approvals Experience a Minor Decline

In January, the United Kingdom witnessed a slight decrease in mortgage approvals for house purchases, dropping to 66,200 from 66,500 in December 2024, as reported by the Bank of England on Friday.

Remortgaging and Consumer Credit Trends

Contrastingly, remortgaging approvals saw an increase, rising to 32,900 in January from 30,700 the previous month. The landscape of consumer credit also shifted, with amounts reaching £1.7 billion in January, up from £1.1 billion in December 2024, though the annual growth rate slightly decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 6.4%.

Changes in Personal Loans and Mortgage Debt

The effective rate on new personal loans to individuals experienced a decline, dropping by 6 basis points to 8.79%. Meanwhile, individuals borrowed £4.2 billion in mortgage debt, indicating ongoing activity in the housing market despite the slight downturn in approvals.