text: Remortgaging loans approved in July hit the highest level for nearly seven years, the Bank of England data show.
  Mortgage approvals for house purchases also rose to a 17-month high.
  Both remain far below the peak of housing market activity, but signal an assumption of imminent rate rises despite market turmoil in recent days.
  The economic situation in China created a shock across world markets and some analysts suggested this could delay a rise in the Bank rate in the UK.
  The governor of the Bank of England was more circumspect in a recent speech and has hinted that a rate rise could be seen next year.
  Homeowners have been increasingly signing up to mortgage deals, especially by remortgaging, in anticipation of a rate rise. This has been encouraged by competition between lenders battling over borrowers' custom.
  Howard Archer, chief UK economist for IHS Global Insight, said the Bank's latest figures were "compelling evidence" that housing market activity was firming up.
  "It is possible that July's performance may have been lifted by some house buyers looking to move quickly to try and lock in a low mortgage interest rate before they start rising," he added.
target: Continued expectations of an interest rate rise are prompting more homeowners to lock into a new mortgage deal, figures suggest.