Another sign that the housing market is slowing amidst a slowing economy is the data from the Bank of England detailing that there were fewer mortgage approvals for purchases from August to September.  The volume fell from 64,054 in August to 61,267 in September.  This is the lowest total since July 2013. 

The Bank of England may not meet the expected mortgage approvals for the last quarter.

Sam Hill, an RBC economist, said, “As well as the downside risk from euro area weakness, these data confirm housing activity is another area where the BoE's August forecasts are now starting to look too optimistic.”

As data keeps supporting a weaker housing market, the pressure on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to increase the standard base interest rate will lessen.  In the last few MPC meetings there have been members that have called for a 0.25% increase in the 0.5% historically low interest rate.  Economists’ forecasts from only a month ago called for a possible rate increase in early 2015 but now the warnings have weakened.

The slowing of the housing market may or may not keep lenders from changing out their remortgage and mortgage deals.  It will be a game of chance for those waiting on the fence to see if deals remain as cheap as they currently are due to lending competition or if they begin to pull the deals and replace them with higher interest rates.

Those that act quickly will find that some deals are at the lowest seen in years.  Experts encourage homeowners and home buyers to carefully weigh the benefits of one deal over another and look past the low interest rate which usually is the main focus.  Being blind to the costs in fees can make the deal actually more expensive than perceived by the low interest rate.  By looking at the deal in detail, a borrower can be assured the interest rate and the savings is truly at a level needed for their individual need.