The number of mortgage approvals fell again in August to record its lowest level in six months, new Bank of England (BoE) figures have revealed.

Net approvals for house purchases, and indicator of future borrowing, feel from 49,500 in July to 45,400 in August.

The BoE data showed that net approvals for remortgaging saw a more significant decline. While this does only capture remortgaging with a different lender, figures fell from 39,300 in July to 25,000 in August, the lowest monthly tally since July 2012, when they stood at 24,400.

August also saw net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increase from £200m in July to £1.2bn in August. The BoE confirmed this was the fourth consecutive monthly increase in mortgage borrowing and the highest since January this year.

Gross lending climbed from £19.1bn in July to £19.7bn in August, while gross repayments were little changed at £18.9bn in August.

Managing director of capital markets and finance at LiveMore, Simon Webb, commented: “It is good to see that both gross and net mortgage lending were up in August but the fall in approvals for house purchases and remortgaging doesn’t bode well for future lending over the next two or three months.”

Chief revenue officer at Phoebus Software, Adam Oldfield, added: “We may well see a flurry of activity in October if would-be house hunters are tempted by reduced mortgage rates. However, we may not have seen the last of the base rate rises in 2023. All in all, we are looking at a pretty unsettled market and that picture is unlikely to change in the near future.

“Add to this the increase in the number of arrears and lenders are heading into even more troubled waters. The Mortgage Charter and Consumer Duty have put a huge onus of responsibility on lenders and now is the time to ensure that all systems are in place. This will allow other resources to be allocated where they are really needed to ensure exposed borrowers are given the help they need.”

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