The number of mortgage approvals fell slightly last month, but Britons still borrowed more cash to buy homes, new figures show.
Savers also invested record amounts in ISAs this month as households look to take advantage of the highest interest rates in 16 years.
Bank of England data released on Friday showed that 61,100 mortgages were approved for home purchases in April.
Mortgage approvals for new purchases were fairly consistent with previous months, perhaps reflecting the rise in mortgage rates. This may have heightened borrower concerns about affordability and reliability.
Mark Harris, SPF Personal Customer
This is a slight decrease from the 61,300 recorded in March, which was the highest level since September 2022 amid signs of increased activity in the UK housing market.
It comes after mortgage rates rose slightly in April as some lenders pushed back on expectations of when the Bank of England would cut interest rates from the current rate of 5.25%.
Remortgage loan approvals also decreased from 33,500 in March to 29,000 this month.
But net mortgage lending this month rose to up to £2.4 billion, up from £500 million a month earlier.
Meanwhile, consumer credit lending fell to £700m from £1.4bn in April as households cut their spending on credit cards.
The data showed that households' money holdings increased by £8.4 billion last month.
This was as a result of households depositing £11.7 billion into ISAs, the highest figure for savings accounts since records began in 1999.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Mortgage approvals for new purchases were fairly consistent with previous months, perhaps reflecting the rise in mortgage rates. This may have heightened borrower concerns regarding affordability and reliability.
“The average interest rate paid on newly issued mortgages increased 7 basis points (bps) to 4.74%, reflecting higher mortgage prices in part due to rising swap rates.
“Since then, inflation has moved closer to the 2% target and a rate cut has become increasingly likely.”