Mortgage approvals fell in August

The figure is below the 120,000 in July, but is 16% higher than the average for the past decade. Approvals for remortgaging were 97,000 in August and were in line with July’s outturn. Milan Khatri, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), says: “Despite a small drop in mortgage approvals in August, activity is still at high levels and housing demand is robust. We expect the buoyancy of the economy and strong consumer finances to put continued upward pressure on house prices and the recent upward spurt in the market to be sustained, though further interest ...