The UK property market showed signs of slowdown in October as uncertainty ahead of the autumn Budget weighed on activity, according to Bank of England (BoE) data.
Net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell by around 600 to 65,000 in October, while approvals for remortgaging dropped by 3,600 to 33,100 – the lowest level since February 2025. Net mortgage borrowing by individuals also eased to £4.3bn, down from £5.2bn in September.
Reflecting on the latest data, Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, commented: “Demand for mortgages to buy homes fell in October, as uncertainty around property tax announcements in the Budget stalled activity in the housing market.
“Mortgage approvals are back to their five-year average, which points to housing sales of 1.15m a year, and now that the threat of additional property taxes has been lifted from homes between £500,000 and £2m, we expect to see a rebound in demand as we enter the early months of 2026.”
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, agrees that speculation surrounding the Autumn Budget may have played a role in contributing towards a decrease in the number of mortgage approvals during this period.
He commented: “While it is understandable to see a lull regarding mortgage activity on the months leading up to the Chancellor making their fiscal plans known, it is now time to concentrate on ensuring the housing market is fully empowered for already anticipated population growth, via assembling a skilled workforce and supply chain to deliver on housing targets across each nation in what is already demand timeframe to achieve.”
Anthony Codling, an analyst at RBC Capital, added: “Mortgage approvals slipped a touch in October down 1.0% on September and 4.9% lower than October 2024. Confirming that the long period of Budget speculation negatively impacted housing market activity.
“We expect to see another down month in November as the noise around the Budget was turned up to 11. However, looking forward, the housing market is dealing with known knowns rather than unknown unknowns and if we see a Bank Rate cut later this month, we think 26’s spring selling season will have a spring in its step. A very early indicator will be the announcement of Rightmove’s Boxing Day traffic, we expect a new record.”
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