Mortgage approvals down to 11-month low amid EU impact over EU vote uncertainty

The number of loan approvals to buy homes fell to 66,250 in April from 70,305 the month before, according to the Bank of England’s Money and Credit report.

The report also revealed that mortgage lending fell back to £0.3 billion in April, compared to £7.4 billion in March.

Economists said the slowdown was partly caused by people rushing to buy properties ahead of the 3% stamp duty rise on buy-to-let homes, which came into force last month.

It comes as a separate study also revealed a slowdown in annual house price growth in April.

The average price of a UK house edged up 0.2% to £204,368 in May, but year-on-year growth slipped back to 4.7% from 4.9% in April, according to Nationwide Building Society.

Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the Bank’s report showed the forthcoming EU referendum was having an impact on the housing market.

“The adverse impact of uncertainty about the outcome of the EU referendum can be seen clearly across all the latest lending data.”

He added: “The drop in approvals reflects April’s rise in stamp duty on buy-to-let and second home purchases, as well as the impact of Brexit risk on London’s housing market.”