Housing holds on but rate rises are knocking on the door
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The housing market looks set to continue its solid growth after mortgage lending hit a new record for July.
Some £34.4bn was advanced last month, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, compared with £30.6bn in July 2006.
"Lending is robust despite the five rate rises since last August – although we have yet to see the full impact of higher rates," said a spokesman. The figures are "being fuelled by a large number of people remortgaging to better deals in case rates go any higher".
Although July's lending figures were the highest on record for that month, they were 1 per cent down on June's £34.8bn.
Elsewhere, the National Association of Estate Agents said its July data suggested consumers were beginning to feel the pinch from the rate rises. The number of registered buyers, the number of properties on estate agents' books and sales per agent all fell.
For July, a spokesman said, agents reported an average of 314 buyers registered. "This is in sharp contrast to July last year, when there was an average of 387 house hunters reported."
Figures from the Building Societies Association backed up signs of a slowdown. Seasonally adjusted mortgage approvals from its members were £3.6bn in July, down from £4.9bn a year earlier.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments