There were 7.000 fewer house purchase mortgage approvals in October than in September, the Bank of England has reported.

Giving further proof that the house market is cooing, the near 10 per cent reduction in approvals saw the total fall from 66,000 in September to 59,000 in October.

Approvals represent future borrowing. The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest rate paid on those mortgages newly in place, increased by 25 basis points, to 3.09 per cent in October.

The figures come from the Bank’s latest Money and Credit statistical release.

Total outstanding net mortgage borrowing by individuals went down – from £5.9bn in September to £4.0bn in October. This is the lowest level since November 2021. Gross lending increased to £28.2bn in October, up £1bn on the month, while gross repayments went up from £21.5bn to £24.8bn.

Approvals for re-mortgaging increased slightly in October, up 2,000 on September to 51,300.