Mortgage Monitor: Approvals hit all-time low before surveyors returned to work

The scope of the property market freeze became clear on Tuesday when the Bank of England said mortgage approvals for house purchase fell 80% between February and April, says Knight Frank Finance Managing Partner Simon Gammon.

Banks approved 15,800 mortgages, about half of the number seen during the depths of the financial crisis, while most surveyors were unable to safely visit properties to conduct in-person valuations.

Approvals for remortgage were more robust, falling 34% to 34,400 between February and April, though the data only includes remortgaging with a different lender.

Thankfully, surveyors are now able to return to work safely and are working their way through a backlog of applications built up over the course of the lockdown.

We expect to see the time it takes for borrowers to get an approval decline steadily in the weeks ahead.

It’s worth remembering, mortgage markets had been at their most active in five years in February as the 'Boris bounce' took hold.

We expect a post-lockdown surge in approvals as the backlog is cleared, and those that had wished to move home or remortgage become able to do so.