Mortgage approvals slipped by 600 to 65,500 in February from a year ago, Bank of England data shows.  

This follows a fall of 400 mortgage approvals in January, the central bank’s latest Money and Credit report shows. 

Approvals for remortgaging to a new lender were down by 800 to 32,000 in February, following an increase of 2,100 the previous month. 

Residential mortgage borrowing fell by around £900m to £3.3bn in February, following an increase in net borrowing of about £800m in January.  

The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending was little changed at 1.9% in February.  

However, gross lending lifted to £24.3bn in February, from £21.7bn the previous month –  and was the highest since November 2022, when it hit £24.9bn.  

Gross repayments also increased in February, to £19.8bn from £16.3bn. 

The survey added that the ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages rose by 2 basis points, to 4.53% in February.  

The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 3.87% in February, up from 3.81% in January. 

Propertymark chief executive Nathan Emerson says: “With the wider global economy seeing upheaval, many people remain cautious about how this might affect aspects such as the rate of inflation and base rates domestically.  

“Although overall, we are seeing an encouraging level of growth year on year within the housing market, it is vital consumers feel confident enough to approach a potential house move when looking at their affordability.  

“We have seen a strong start to the year overall, and as we head further towards the summer months, we remain optimistic to see further market momentum.  

“It does, however, remain imperative that the rate of inflation remains closely aligned with the initially set target of 2% before the Bank of England will likely consider any new base rate cuts.”