UK mortgage approvals hit six-month low as interest rates cool market

A sold sign outside a house in London. Cash buyers have helped prop up the number of transactions. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

UK mortgage approvals fell in August to their lowest level in six months as high interest rates cooled the housing market.

The Bank of England said net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 49,500 in July to 45,400 in August and were down by a third from the same month last year.