The number of mortgages approved for house purchases in the U.K. declined unexpectedly in June, the latest figures from the British Bankers' Association showed Tuesday.
The number of approvals fell to 26,269 in June from a revised 29,567 in May. Economists were expecting the number of approvals to rise to 31,200 from May's originally reported 30,238.
"Public holidays and wet weather put a damper on mortgage approvals in June," BBA statistics director David Dooks said.
House purchase approvals were 20.5 percent lower than a year ago. The average house purchase approval is GBP 166,600.
Total mortgage approvals that include house purchases, re-mortgages and other secured lending, declined to 51,610 from 59,923 in the prior month.
In terms of value, housing mortgages totaled GBP 4.2 billion, down from GBP 4.7 billion in May. Gross mortgage lending of GBP 7.2 billion in June was below the six month average and reflected subdued activity in the housing market.
Outstanding unsecured lending contracted by 2.3 percent over the 12 months to June, BBA said.
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