Property market doomsayers have been given new ammunition after the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases hit an 18-month low in July at 60,912, Bank of England data has revealed.

The figures, representing the month after the Brexit vote, are the lowest since January 2015 when there were 60,315 approvals, and it is below the six month average of 68,775.

It is also down year-on-year when there were 69,560 approvals in July 2015.

The total amount lent for home purchase was also down from £11.1bn in June to £10.4bn in July, which also happens to match the amount lent in January 2015.

It is of course worth noting that many of these applications will have begun being processed in the aftermath of the Stamp Duty rush in April.

Daniel Hegarty, founder of online mortgage broker habito, suggested that some borrowers are scared of getting a home loan.

He said: “Mortgage approval rates have dropped for two reasons: our unstable economy and people are scared of getting a mortgage. Two-thirds of first-time buyers living in London are terrified of getting a mortgage and there’s a widespread lack of understanding of the mortgage process.

“We need to stop blaming Brexit for our housing crisis and start looking at the archaic mortgage application process that’s preventing hard-working Britons from getting on to the property ladder.”