"The months and weeks that precede such an event are typically and understandably quieter, as housing demand drops as more people adopt a more cautious approach."
Approvals for house purchase also fell further in April to 64,645, below the previous month and the six month average.
The total number of approvals hit 118,370 and remortgaging loans fell to 40,575 - both at their lowest figure since August 2016.
Jonathan Sealey, CEO of Hope Capital, commented: “Although approvals for house purchase and remortgaging fell slightly in April, this was to be expected, considering the snap general election and ongoing Brexit uncertainty. However, it’s promising to see that gross mortgage lending in April was higher than the six month average, suggesting that the UK’s housing market has once again remained steady.
“The months and weeks that precede such an event are typically and understandably quieter, as housing demand drops as more people adopt a more cautious approach. However, it is likely that activity will soon again pick up afterwards, and now that the main political parties have outlined significant housing promises in their manifestos, the elected government must follow through with their housing election pledges in order to tackle the housing crisis head on.”
