July figures from the UK housing market have been totaled which illustrates where the market has been in the last year and possibly where it is headed. Mortgage approvals fell in the month of July to 39,600. June mortgage approvals numbered 40,300 which means the month of July saw approvals dip. This has led many to believe the last of the housing market slowdown has not yet occurred. The slowdown started late last year and has continued through the first part of this year. Many housing specialists see the slowdown continuing for at least a few more months.

There remains quite a bright spot within the UK housing market. That bright spot is remortgage activity. Total mortgage lending in the month of July ran to £24.6bn. This was an increase of 7.6% compared with the same time last year. According to UK Finance, the strength behind mortgage lending during the month was remortgage as home owners took advantage of low fixed interest rate deals. These deals were taken advantage of prior to the Bank of England raising the standard base rate earlier this month.

Mortgage approvals will likely remain lower for the remainder of the year, according to some close to the housing market.

Samuel Tombs, economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, commented on the latest data and the direction of mortgage lending, saying: “Approvals likely will languish at their current low level, given that the new buyer enquiries balance of the RICS Residential Market Survey remained close to zero in July.”

Remortgage demand is expected to remain strong with lenders offering special incentives and home owners still searching for ways to cut monthly outgoings.