UK residents have more than a healthy appetite for mortgage lending currently as the level of borrowing has reached figures not seen since 2008. This, along with heavy credit card usage has led many economists to believe the market has eased regarding uncertainty and has slid back into a growth mode. The month of June posted more than £21.1bn in mortgage lending, according to data from the Bank of England.

Home purchasers are taking advantage of the lowest mortgage rates on record, although supply remains a challenge across the country. The slowdown in the first half of the year has been nearly erased or at least reversed by the last few months of the summer selling season.

Remortgage activity and not just move home mortgage lending has increased during the months of June and July. Original mortgage lending was lagging behind an already strong remortgage market. Now, original loans have made a strong return.

Despite a record amount of consumer spending being applied to credit, repayments also increased in the month of July.

Howard Archer, former economist with IHS, commented on the latest data in regard to hikes in interest rates, saying: “While consumer credit growth is still too strong for the Bank of England’s liking, July’s slowdown further dilutes the case for an interest rate hike any time soon.”

Archer added: “With the economy struggling and inflation looking close to peaking, we very much doubt that there will be any interest rate hike before late 2018 – and it could well be delayed until 2019.”