UK mortgage lending hits record low in sign of housing market stress

Borrowing costs have risen dramatically and new fixed-rate mortgages are typically above 5%. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The UK’s housing market is showing growing signs of stress, with mortgage lending collapsing to the lowest monthly level on record, and property valuations falling at the fastest annual rate in almost 14 years.

Figures from the Bank of England show borrowing of mortgage debt fell sharply in April, with consumers repaying £1.4bn more than was taken out in new lending on the month. The Bank said April’s figure, continuing a decline from net zero borrowing in March, was the lowest since records began in 1993, excluding the Covid pandemic.