More people are paying cash but mortgage purchases fall as higher mortgage costs hit buyers. The average house price is £266,604
Net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to 60,000 in May from 60,800 in April and 61,086 in March, the Bank said. Approvals for remortgaging decreased slightly from 29,900 in April to 29,600 in May. Prices as measured by Nationwide are around 3 per cent lower than their record high touched two years ago.
“While earnings growth has been much stronger than house price growth in recent years, this hasn’t been enough to offset the impact of higher mortgage rates, which are still well above the record lows prevailing in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic. Sarah Coles, personal finance chief at Hargreaves Lansdown, said a rate cut may help house buyers rediscover ‘their mojo’. “This could come as early as August, although sticky services inflation and higher wages could mean we need to wait until the autumn.”on short term buyer commitment was more readily reflected in the number of new deals being agreed in the market.