Net mortgage approvals for house purchases declined in November, falling by 500 to 64,500, new Bank of England (BoE) figures have shown.

The latest figure was a second consecutive fall, after net mortgage approvals dropped by 600 in October.

According to the central bank, approvals for remortgage – which only capture remortgaging with a different lender – registered a rise in November, however, as approvals jumped by 3,200 to total 36,600.

In total, net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased to £4.5bn in November, which followed a decrease of £1bn to £4.2bn in October.

The BoE also reported that gross lending fell by £600m to £23.7bn during the month.

Chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, Mark Harris, commented that “the underlying resilience of the housing market is in evidence”.

“As we head into a new year, the good news for borrowers is that lenders are keen to lend and have the funds available to do so,” Harris said. “Many of the big lenders have reduced their mortgage rates recently as they attempt to get off to a strong start this year, and we expect others to follow suit. Those who can’t compete on rate may look to improve criteria instead, which is also good news for borrowers.

“Remortgaging numbers rose, suggesting that borrowers coming off low rates are shopping around for the best rate possible rather than opting for the ease of sticking with their existing lender.”

Director of specialist lender MT Finance, Tomer Aboody, added: “As borrowing levels increased towards the end of last year, further activity is anticipated at the start of this one, as buyers and sellers absorb any Budget fallout and decide to keep moving – literally.

“Although mortgage approvals are down, with interest rates also falling we are hopeful of further activity soon.”

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