FX.co ★ UK Mortgage Approvals Fall More than Expected

Net mortgage approvals for UK house purchases, a key indicator of prospective borrowing trends, declined for the fourth month in a row, dropping by 3,100 to a total of 60,500 in April 2025. This figure fell short of market predictions, which estimated approvals at 63,000. Conversely, remortgaging approvals, which account only for remortgaging with a new lender, rose by 1,600, reaching 35,300 in April, following a prior increase of 1,000 in March. The 'effective' interest rate—which represents the actual interest payable—on newly issued mortgages saw a slight decrease to 4.49% in April. Meanwhile, the interest rate on the existing stock of mortgages edged up to 3.86% from 3.84%.