UK Finance's Household Finance Update for August 2018
reveals:
-
Gross mortgage lending for the total market in
August was £24.1bn, some 1.2 per cent lower than a year
earlier.
-
The number of mortgage approvals by the main high
street banks in August rose by 0.7 per cent compared to the
same month a year earlier. Within this, remortgaging approvals
were 9.2 per cent higher than for the same period a year
earlier. There was a fall in house purchase and other secured
borrowing of 4.3 per cent and 2.1 per cent
respectively.
-
Credit card spending was 7.6 per cent higher than a
year earlier, with outstanding levels on card borrowing growing
by 5.8 per cent over the year. Outstanding overdraft borrowing
was 7.2 per cent lower compared to the same time last
year.
Commenting on the data, Peter Tyler, Director
at UK Finance, said:
“Remortgaging continued to dominate in August, as
homeowners took advantage of a competitive market to lock into
attractive deals.
“Growth in card spending remained fairly strong,
reflecting the boost to retail sales from the warm weather as
well as the growing use of credit cards as a preferred means of
payment.
“However, the overall economic outlook remains mixed
as household incomes continue to be squeezed by rising
inflation.”
