Alexander Hall, a UK mortgage broker, sees mortgage approvals for both home purchases and refinancing ticking up through the first half of 2026, driven by sharper pricing and more options on the table. The firm expects average monthly house-purchase approvals to hit 62,286 in the first quarter, then push higher to 64,196 in the second. Remortgage approvals, meanwhile, are forecast at 41,547 for the first quarter, jumping to 48,257 in the second. “We expect this positive momentum to continue through the first half of the year,” said managing director Richard Merrett. Timing is critical here, with the refinancing surge far from over. According to UK Finance, 1.8 million fixed-rate mortgages are set to expire—a hefty pipeline likely to send borrowers
