Mortgage approvals in November 2023 hit the highest rate recorded since July, sitting at 50,067 for the month, the Bank of England (BoE) has found.

In the BoE’s November money and credit report, it revealed that the number of mortgage approvals increased both year-on-year and month-on-month.

The report also found that November was just the fourth time that approvals exceeded 50,000 in 2023, with approvals reaching over this figure in March, May and June.

Furthermore, the effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages also increased by nine basis points and sat at 5.34% in November.

Chief executive officer at Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, commented: "Extremely positive signs for a property market that has otherwise looked a tad weary in 2023, as the consistent increase in interest rates seen throughout much of the year caused many buyers to refrain from entering the market.

"However, it’s clear that since the BoE has decided to hold interest rates, a growing air of stability has returned, with mortgage approvals climbing for the second consecutive month and exceeding the 50,000 threshold for only the fourth time this year.

"While there is still some ground to be made up, this pre-Christmas uplift in market activity suggests that 2024 will be a far more positive year, particularly with the prospect of an interest rate reduction on the horizon."

The BoE said that throughout 2023, households continued to move deposits into higher interest time deposit accounts, in turn withdrawing from sight accounts.

Overall, households deposited £3.4bn with banks and building societies, which was driven by net inflows of £3.7bn into both time deposits and ISAs.

However, these were partly offset by net outflows from sight deposit accounts of around £2.6bn.

The total of net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals increased by £600m month-on-month in November from £1.4bn in October to £2bn.

Head of active savings at Hargreaves Lansdown, Mark Hicks, added: "There are two striking trends here, with savings flowing into fixed term rates, to take advantage of decent deals, and a continued strong flow into ISA products, as savers realise the benefits of protecting their savings from surging income tax bills.

"Even though savings rates have fallen from the highs of 6% in August, cash is clearly still an attractive asset class for UK households, so I expect both of these trends to continue into the coming months. I have high hopes for a bumper cash ISA season as we enter the first few months of 2024.

"NS&I has lost its crown, after the withdrawal of its one-year bonds, with more normal flows after its bumper September. Savers deposited only £400m in November, which is more in-line with what we would expect given their rates are mid table."

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