Property market activity is proving to be steady. The number of mortgages approved for purchase—around 65,000 cases each month for the past quarter—remains close to the pre-pandemic average, even in the face of higher borrowing costs.
This suggests that UK housing demand is being sustained by robust employment and wage growth, along with stabilising interest rates following earlier hikes from the Bank of England.
The report from Nationwide reveals that buyers are gradually returning to the market, encouraged by improved wage growth and steady employment numbers.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, noted:
“Despite ongoing uncertainties in the global economy, underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive. Unemployment is low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace, household balance sheets are strong, and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little further if Bank Rate is lowered in the coming quarters as we, and most other analysts, expect.”
