The number of mortgage approvals in the UK slumped to a one-and-half-year low in the month after the Brexit vote, according to a high-street banking report.
Loans for house purchases slipped 5% to an 18-month low of 37,662 in July, down from 39,763 in June, figures from the British Bankers' Association said.
The setback comes amid a good week for the property sector, with housebuilder Persimmon shrugging off uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum result to post a 19% rise in pre-tax profits.
However, ultra-low interest rates allowed consumer credit to push higher - rising more than 6% compared to July last year.
The BBA said it was boosted in part by last month's strong retail figures, which rose to a higher-than-expected 1.4% in July.
Borrowing by non-financial companies bounced back to rise by £2.3 billion last month, after a small fall in June - suggesting some businesses were still willing to press ahead with their investment plans following the Brexit vote.
Dr Rebecca Harding, BBA chief economist, said it was early days, but the data does not suggest borrowing was significantly affected by the EU referendum result.
She said many borrowing decisions will have been taken before Britain voted to leave the European Union.
"We are also clearly still a nation of shoppers and the Brexit vote has done nothing to change the fact that we use credit cards for short-term purchases. Strong retail sales figures appear closely associated with strong consumer credit growth," she added.
Brick shortage driving up house prices
Meanwhile, Britain's chronic brick shortage is ramping up house prices and the situation could be made worse by the Brexit vote, a new report has warned.
The supply of the vital building material is failing to keep pace with the demand for homes, exacerbating Britain's housing crisis, according to the UK National Association of Estate Agents' (NAEA) Bricks Report.
It said the industry would need to find 1.4 billion bricks - the equivalent to 740 Big Bens - to plug Britain's shortfall of 264,000 homes.
The study, compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), found that more than 60% of small and medium-sized construction firms faced a two month wait for new brick orders last year.
There are also concerns that Britain's vote to leave the European Union could hamper supply further, as 85% of imported clay and cement bricks came into the UK from the EU last year.
