Phoebus Software comment on money and credit statistics

02 March 2026

Richard Pike, sales and marketing director at Phoebus Software:

• Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals decreased to £4.1 billion in January, from £4.5 billion in December, below the previous 6-month average of £4.5 billion.
• Net mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased to 60,000 in January, below an average of around 64,100 over the previous 6-months. Approvals for remortgaging decreased slightly to 38,100 in January from 38,400 in December.

He said: “A drop in borrowing at the start of the year is not entirely unexpected after such a strong finish to 2025 and isn’t cause for alarm. While there’s no doubt that households are still feeling the economic squeeze and uncertainty is affecting confidence, there are positive signs for the housing and mortgage market, with more product choice and improving affordability.

“Mortgage pricing will be pivotal to activity in the coming months and that will depend on what happens with the Bank of England base rate. While inflation did seem to be slowly heading in the right direction, conflict escalation in the Middle East will once again bring global economics more directly into play and could put pressure on a recovering UK market and have a knock-on effect on UK consumers and businesses alike.”