Gross mortgage lending hits 5-year high in February, but approvals for new mortgages falls

In response to figures from the Bank of England's newly released Money and Credit analysis, which shows gross mortgage lending at a 5-year high, but new mortgage approvals down month-on-month.

“Today’s mortgage approval figures provide a brief look at what faces the market when the stamp duty holiday does finally expire.

The substantial drop in approvals seen during February will no doubt reverse due to the boost of a stamp duty holiday extension announced in the March Budget.

However, it starting to look more clear that when it does finally come to an end, buyer demand is going to wane.

When it does, the rate of house price growth is unlikely to be far behind, and so those thinking of selling are arguably best to do so now before this dip in property values hits.

It's also interesting to note that the drop in recent mortgage approvals was also mirrored in recent enquiry numbers for our "sell my house fast" service, which saw an uptick in February as mortgage approvals dropped.”