DEMAND for mortgages from home buyers fell back significantly in the three months to mid-September, according to a Bank of England survey of lenders.
The Bank's Credit Conditions Survey said demand for loans from buy-to-let investors also recorded the largest drop-off since the survey started in 2007.
But lenders expect mortgage demand to pick up again in the final three months of 2016.
In the Bank's Credit Conditions Review, which it released alongside the survey, it said that in discussions that took place in late September, major lenders reported the fall in mortgage demand was likely to have been driven by temporary factors that led borrowers to defer mortgage applications, particularly the outcome of the EU referendum.
On April 1, a stamp duty hike had also come into force for people buying second homes, including buy-to-let properties, and figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have indicated buy-to-let lending has become more subdued in recent months.
Earlier this week, Paul Smee, director-general of the CML, said the lower buy-to-let lending figures appear to be a long-term trend.
The Credit Conditions Survey asks banks and building societies about trends as part of the Bank's role to maintain financial stability. The survey for the third quarter of 2016 was carried out between August 23 and September 14.
The report also said fees, maximum loan-to-value and income ratios on mortgage lending were generally unchanged in the third quarter, and are expected to remain unchanged in the final three months of 2016.
Meanwhile, in signs of the impact of the uncertain post-Brexit vote economy on firms, the Credit Conditions Survey said overall demand for corporate lending from small, medium and large businesses decreased significantly in the three months to mid-September.
Demand for lending from small and medium-sized businesses was expected to be unchanged and continue to decrease, respectively, in the coming three months. Meanwhile, demand from large business was expected to pick up slightly in the fourth quarter of 2016.
