House purchase approvals topped expectations, while net mortgage borrowing jumped to £7.7 billion even as newly drawn mortgage rates reached their highest level in more than a year.
UK net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 58,200 in June 2026 from a revised 56,600 in May, beating expectations of 57,100, while net mortgage borrowing by households surged to £7.7 billion from £3.3 billion. The jump in net borrowing far exceeded market expectations of £3.95 billion and the previous six-month average of £4.9 billion, pointing to stronger mortgage demand despite higher borrowing costs. Gross mortgage lending edged up to £27.4 billion from £27.2 billion and remained above the six-month average of £26.0 billion, while repayments fell to £21.3 billion from £22.7 billion but stayed above the recent six-month average of £20.4 billion. Remortgaging with a different lender also rose to 34,200 from 33,800. The annual growth rate of net mortgage lending ticked up to 3.6% from 3.5%. At the same time, the effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages climbed to 4.35% from 4.22%, the highest level in more than a year, and the average rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages reached a record 3.96%.