Mortgage Approvals in the United Kingdom increased to 64.17 Thousand in June from 63.29 Thousand in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Mortgage Approvals - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The total monthly number of mortgage approvals for the purpose of a house sale in the UK plummeted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a spike in the second half of the year. In 2021, interest rates started to rise, resulting in a decline in the volume of mortgage approvals. In May 2025, mortgage approvals for home purchases totaled ******, while remortgage approvals stood at ******* Being approved for a mortgage is one of the first steps in purchasing a home, which makes it an early indicator of the development of transaction volumes. However, a mortgage approval does not necessarily mean that a sale is going to take place, as home buyers need to undergo several other steps to complete the sale: conveyancing, or the process of transferring the legal title of the property from the seller to the buyer, a property survey, contract exchange, and closing.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of residential mortgage approvals in the UK plummeted. As the measures eased, the market rebounded, peaking at ******* mortgage approvals in November 2020. In 2022 and 2023, mortgage lending declined again as a response to the rising mortgage interest rates and the cooling of the housing market. In May 2025, the number of mortgage approvals exceeded *******—up from about ****** in the same month a year ago. The increase indicated a rise in mortgage demand and an improvement in consumer sentiment.

The number of monthly mortgage approvals for home purchase in the United Kingdom (UK) peaked at nearly 108,000 approvals in November 2020, after falling to record low levels at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the second quarter of the year. The spike was due to the easing of the first lockdown and a rise in the demand for housing. In 2022, the housing market started to cool, resulting in a falling number of mortgage approvals. In September 2024, there were 65,647 mortgage approvals. Remortgaging approvals followed a similar trend.

UK Mortgage Approvals Data from the Bank of England

Monthly Data

Contains both the seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted series.

1. Monthly number of total sterling approvals for house purchase to individuals not seasonally adjusted - LPMVTVU

2. Monthly number of total sterling approvals for house purchase to seasonally adjusted LPMVTVX

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases data was reported at 146,082.000 Unit in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 125,182.000 Unit for Sep 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases data is updated monthly, averaging 139,463.000 Unit from Oct 1997 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 253 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 400,556.000 Unit in Oct 2003 and a record low of 68,691.000 Unit in Jan 2010. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

The value of mortgage approvals in the UK started to increase in the final quarter of 2023, reaching 22.7 billion British pounds in September 2024. In recent years, the market has undergone significant fluctuations, including a dramatic decline in May 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and two notable drops in 2023, attributable to the aggressive mortgage interest rate hikes and worsening economic conditions.

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of residential mortgage approvals in the United Kingdom (UK) plummeted in the second quarter of 2020. With the easing of the measures, the market quickly headed for recovery. Nevertheless, the total number of mortgage approvals in 2020 remained below the ********* average.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases: HP: MFIs data was reported at 63,288.000 Unit in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 62,550.000 Unit for Sep 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases: HP: MFIs data is updated monthly, averaging 74,659.000 Unit from Apr 1993 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 307 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 117,923.000 Unit in Feb 2002 and a record low of 25,158.000 Unit in Nov 2008. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases: HP: MFIs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases data was reported at 129,388.000 Unit in Sep 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 132,974.000 Unit for Aug 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases data is updated monthly, averaging 134,461.500 Unit from Oct 1997 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 252 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 371,492.000 Unit in Oct 2003 and a record low of 87,422.000 Unit in Jul 2012. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Remortgaging data was reported at 8,891.000 GBP mn in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8,907.000 GBP mn for Sep 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Remortgaging data is updated monthly, averaging 5,819.000 GBP mn from Oct 1997 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 253 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15,597.000 GBP mn in Jan 2008 and a record low of 689.000 GBP mn in Oct 1997. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Remortgaging data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases: HP: Other Specialist Lenders data was reported at 2,999.000 Unit in Sep 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3,261.000 Unit for Aug 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases: HP: Other Specialist Lenders data is updated monthly, averaging 5,277.500 Unit from Oct 1997 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 252 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29,803.000 Unit in Oct 2006 and a record low of 790.000 Unit in Oct 2008. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: Cases: HP: Other Specialist Lenders data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

Mortgage brokers’ revenue is anticipated to climb at a compound annual rate of 4.5% over the five years through 2024-25 to £2.3 billion, including estimated growth of . Rising residential property transactions stimulated by government initiatives and rising house prices have driven industry growth. However, mortgage brokers have faced numerous obstacles, including downward pricing pressures from upstream lenders and a sharp downturn in the housing market as rising mortgage rates ramped up the cost of borrowing. After a standstill in residential real estate activity in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, ultra-low base rates, the release of pent-up demand, the introduction of tax incentives and buyers reassessing their living situation fuelled a V-shaped recovery in the housing market. This meant new mortgage approvals for house purchases boomed going into 2021-22, ramping up demand for brokerage services. 2022-23 was a year rife with economic headwinds, from rising interest rates to fears of a looming recession. Yet, the housing market stood its ground, with brokers continuing to benefit from rising prices. Elevated mortgage rates eventually hit demand for houses in the first half of 2023, contributing to lacklustre house price growth in 2023-24, hurting revenue, despite a modest recovery in the second half of the year as mortgage rates came down. In 2024-25, lower mortgage rates and an improving economic outlook support house prices, driving revenue growth. Mortgage brokers’ revenue is anticipated to swell at a compound annual rate of 5.3% over the five years through 2029-30 to £2.9 billion. Competition from direct lending will ramp up. Yet, growth opportunities remain. The emergence of niche mortgage products, like those targeting retired individuals and contractors, as well as green mortgages, will support revenue growth in the coming years. AI is also set to transform the industry, improving cost efficiencies by automating tasks like document verification, risk assessment and customer profiling.

In the last three years, the highest number of mortgage approvals by building societies in the UK took place in March 2021 at over 46,000. In March 2020, the number of mortgage approvals amounted to approximately 36,000. The highest value of building societies residential mortgage loans during that period was also recorded in March 2021. Building societies, unlike banks are not listed on the stock market and thus, don't have external shareholders. Instead, the "owners" and decision makers in building societies are mortgage borrowers, savers and current account holders. Building societies offer many traditional banking products and financial services such as mortgage lending, savings and current accounts.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: MFIs data was reported at 20,279.000 GBP mn in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20,408.000 GBP mn for Sep 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: MFIs data is updated monthly, averaging 13,010.000 GBP mn from Apr 1993 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 307 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27,409.000 GBP mn in Nov 2006 and a record low of 3,871.000 GBP mn in Dec 1993. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: sa: MFIs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: MFIs data was reported at 22,737.000 GBP mn in Jun 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 22,588.000 GBP mn for May 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: MFIs data is updated monthly, averaging 12,780.000 GBP mn from Apr 1993 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 303 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 30,901.000 GBP mn in May 2007 and a record low of 2,626.000 GBP mn in Jan 1994. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: MFIs data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases: OS: Other Loans data was reported at 2,003.000 Unit in Sep 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,087.000 Unit for Aug 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases: OS: Other Loans data is updated monthly, averaging 925.000 Unit from Jan 1999 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 237 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13,642.000 Unit in Jan 2005 and a record low of 148.000 Unit in Jan 1999. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases: OS: Other Loans data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases: Other Specialist Lenders (OS) data was reported at 9,951.000 Unit in Sep 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 9,743.000 Unit for Aug 2018. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases: Other Specialist Lenders (OS) data is updated monthly, averaging 9,256.000 Unit from Jan 1999 (Median) to Sep 2018, with 237 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 62,106.000 Unit in Jul 2007 and a record low of 2,143.000 Unit in Dec 2008. United Kingdom Mortgage Loans Approved: Cases: Other Specialist Lenders (OS) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of England. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.KB022: Mortgage Loans: Approved.

This statistic illustrates the quarterly number of new bank loans, including overdraft approvals to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom (UK) during the fourth quarter 2018, by sector. An enterprise is categorized as an SMEs based on their staff headcount, and their turnover or balance sheet total. Small enterprises have less than 50 employees and less than ten million euros in turnover or balance sheet total, whereas medium-sized enterprises have less than 250 employees, less than 50 million euros in turnover, or less than 43 million euros in their balance sheet total.

SMEs often rely on external financing such as loans and overdrafts. The real estate, professional services and support sector had approximately 14.3 thousand loans approved in the fourth quarter of 2018. It was also the sector with highest value of loans approved. More in-depth information could be found in the Statista dossier on small and medium enterprises financing in the UK.

The value of approvals issued for house purchase lending in the UK plummeted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching a record-low of 1.9 billion British pounds in May 2020. In the second half of the year, the release of pent-up demand led to the value of approvals spiking at close to 22 billion British pounds in December 2020. With mortgage rates increasing in response to stubborn inflation, the value of mortgage approvals saw a substantial decrease in 2022 and an uptick in 2023. Remortgage approvals followed a similar trend.