Number of UK mortgage approvals at highest level since 2022 mini-budget

Mortgage approvals fell to a trough of about 40,000 in January last year after the Bank raised interest rates in response to rising inflation. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Demand for new home loans has risen to its highest level in more than two years as falling interest rates attract buyers back into the property market.

Figures from the Bank of England showed mortgage approvals for new purchases rose by 700 to 65,600 in September – the fourth monthly increase in a row.