Mortgage approvals for house purchase slipped slightly last month, one firm of valuers has predicted.

Valuations firm e.surv, part of LSL, said the fall was purely seasonal.

The firm, whose predictions over the last 12 months have shown a 2.8% margin for error compared with the Bank of England data which is published much later, is forecasting 63,485 mortgages for house approval in August.

This figure – based on e.surv’s own valuations activity – is down 4.6% from July, but is roughly the same as in August last year.

Richard Sexton, director of e-surv, said: “We are anticipating mortgage approvals will bounce back upwards.

“Lenders are signaling a desire to pump up lending volume towards the tail end of the year, and there is still a whole host of buyers desperate to get on to the housing ladder, particularly at the bottom of the market.”

However, rival firm Connells Survey & Valuation reported 13% more valuations in August compared with July.