The number of loan approvals for house purchase was 71,030 in August, compared to the average of 65,594 over the previous six months, and up from 69,010 in July, the Bank of England has reported.
The number of approvals for remortgaging was 40,931, compared to the average of 35,811 over the previous six months.
The Bank said the number of approvals for other purposes was 11,685, compared to the average of 10,477 over the previous six months.
“The mercury in the mortgage market is rising, with August marking the third consecutive month-on-month increase in house purchase loan approvals,” said Peter Rollings, CEO of Marsh & Parsons. “And it’s not just new buyers who are feeling confident in the current conditions. Remortgaging has also been a hot ticket over the summer months, as an interest rate rise continues to be postponed into 2016 and homeowners capitalise on cheaper borrowing rates while they can.
“After feeling the chill of taxation changes more severely than other UK regions, house price growth in London is starting to show signs of reawakening, with the capital experiencing the biggest price bump of any region during August.
“At the highest rung of the property ladder, buyers may still be shying away from the new Stamp Duty banding, but the London property market doesn’t simply revolve around investors or million pound property sales, and in more affordable areas of the capital, demand for homes continues to spiral.”