LONDON, - Britain’s housing market picked up modestly in June with a stronger-than-expected rise in mortgage approvals, but consumer lending growth slowed to a fresh five-year low, Bank of England figures showed on Monday.
Brexit worries have weighed on house prices since June 2016’s referendum, though the effect has been most marked in London and surrounding areas, where valuations were already highest. The BoE said the number of mortgages approved for house purchase rose to 66,440 in June from an upwardly revised 65,647 in May, the highest since January and above economists’ average forecasts of 65,750 in a Reuters poll.
Last week industry body UK Finance reported the number of approvals for house purchase near a two-year high in June, while its measure of consumer lending growth picked up slightly.
The tory dream is over?