Net mortgage approvals increased in March to 63,500, up from 62,700 in February, new Bank of England (BoE) figures have shown.

The central bank stated that the latest figure for net approvals, which it uses as an indicator of future borrowing, was above the previous six-month average of 63,200.

Approvals for remortgages, which only capture remortgaging with a different lender, also increased in March to 51,300, up from 41,200 in February.

The BoE’s latest Money and Credit report also revealed that net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased to £6.2bn in March, from £5.2bn in February, a figure also above the previous six-month average of £4.9bn. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending fell to 3% in March, from 3.4% in February.

According to the figures, secured gross lending climbed to £28.7bn in March, up from £24bn in February, staying above the last six-month average of £23.9bn. Repayments increased in March, to £19.7bn, from £18.6bn in February, which was slightly below the six-month average of £19.8bn.

Deputy CEO of specialist lender MT Finance, Gareth Lewis, commented: “It’s not surprising to see net mortgage approvals picking up in March as there was a rally as buyers and sellers tried to push through deals before mortgage rates rose. There was a lot of chopping and changing with lenders pulling rates at short notice as Swap rates ballooned, and borrowers rushed to secure deals.

“Transaction levels remain depleted, and with interest rates on hold for now, impetus must come from elsewhere. The Government should be doing more to support the housing market and encourage activity and confidence, which would have the knock-on effect of benefitting the wider economy.”

President of OnTheMarket, Jason Tebb, added: “These figures reflect decisions made before, and in the early stages of, the conflict in the Middle East when buyers may have been keen to take advantage of competitive mortgage rates they had managed to secure.

“It demonstrates the ongoing resilience of the housing market and the recent holds in base rate from the BoE should further help reinforce this sense of stability.”

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