On Monday, the Bank of England reported that in September, British banks approved 43,328 mortgages, marking the lowest number since January, and fueling concerns that the British housing market may be heading for a rout.

It was a decline from August’s figure of 45,400, and marked the third month of declines in a row. In addition, net approvals for remortgaging fell to 20,600 in September, which according to the statistics was the lowest seen since January of 1999.

The report noted that net borrowing declined to just below £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion) last month from £1.7 billion in August.

Gary Bush, a financial adviser at MortgageShop.com, said in an interview with Sky News, “These dire mortgage approval figures from the Bank of England were always on the cards. The sentiment surrounding the mortgage and property market isn’t especially strong right now and these figures reflect that. The remortgage numbers highlight very clearly how many people have no choice but to stay with their existing lender due to affordability reasons.”

On August 3rd, the Bank of England raised its key rate for the 14th consecutive time, bringing it up to 5.25%, a 15 year high. The sudden surge in interest rates, from an all-time low of 0.1% in November of 2021 has raised the cost to borrow money, in an effort to slow a spiraling inflation. In September the central bank held rates steady, and it is expected by analysts to do so once again on Thursday.

Meanwhile home sales in the UK are presently on track to hit the lowest level in over a decade as mortgage costs surge and both buyers and sellers remain on the sidelines, according to a report from the real estate firm Zoopla.