Mortgage approvals hit just over 40,000 in June, up from just 9,273 in May, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England.

The number of approvals was up 18% on the forecast figure of 33,900 for the month, with cash lent hitting £1.89bn against a forecast of £1.8bn.

Kevin Roberts, director of the Legal & General Mortgage Club, said despite activity remaining below pre-Covid levels in June, the last few weeks had seen a boom in demand in the mortgage market.

“Consumers who put their housing plans on hold during the lockdown are now pressing ahead, while the recent stamp duty holiday is also encouraging more hopeful buyers to move forward with new purchases,” he said.

“Our research has even shown that first-time buyers are potentially driving this boom, with 93% saying they still plan to buy a property this year.”

Challenges ahead

However, he warns there are still challenges facing borrowers, particularly those with smaller deposits who need to access loan-to-value mortgages of 90% and above.

“While these buyers currently face a more limited choice of mortgage, lenders are eager to return to this area of the market once they are sure they can manage the high levels of demand from customers,” said Roberts.

“In the meantime, buyers who are unsure of their options should speak with an independent mortgage adviser to find out what alternative solutions are available to them.”

David Ross, managing director of mortgage intelligence firm Hometrack, warned there was a 10% shortfall in property supply compared with 2019, combined with a reduction in mortgage products and delays in approvals.

Covid hangover

“While the hangover from Covid lingers, our data shows mortgage applications continued to rise in July, showing demand from home movers increasing to over 20% higher than July 2019.

“Many of these applications run the risk however of being unsuccessful, denying potential homeowners the twin benefits of no stamp duty and low interest rates, and in turn stifling the positive network effects of home-moving on the economy.”

Meanwhile property guru Anthony Codling, CEO of portal twindig, struck a more pessimistic note: “Mortgage approvals in June 2020 were 40,000 up from the May lows of 9,273… but still almost 40% below the five-year average, and the last time we saw this level was February 2009 when the UK housing market was far from rosy.

“It will be interesting to see the impact of the Stamp Duty Holiday on July’s mortgage approvals,” he added.