LONDON—The number of new mortgages approved in the U.K. fell in August to a near two-year low, a sign the housing market may have cooled slightly following the country's June vote to leave the European Union.

The number of new home loans approved by banks in August fell to 60,058, the Bank of England said Thursday, in line with expectations of analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal. That is fewer approvals than the 60,925 in July, and the least since November 2014.

Economists are closely watching the housing market as a potential indicator of the overall health of the world's fifth-largest economy. Over the past three decades, U.K. households have cut spending every time house prices have fallen.

The Bank of England has said it expects the housing market to be one of the sectors of the economy that could be hurt in the wake of the Brexit vote. Officials forecast a decline in prices on average over the coming year and a drop in investment in new housing.

So far, however, there is little sign of downward pressure on prices. A recent survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that price growth bounced back in August after slumping to a three-year low in the immediate aftermath of the referendum.

U.K. lender Nationwide's house price index also showed that prices grew in August. However, both surveys showed that prices were supported mainly by a smaller number of houses being put on sale.

The current resilience of the economy combined with the shortage of properties on sale will likely prevent prices from falling over the final months of this year, IHS Global Insight's Chief Economist Howard Archer said in a note. However, house prices will likely dip slightly in 2017, possibly by around 3%, as "mounting uncertainty" hits the economy, said Mr. Archer.

BOE data also showed that lending to consumers, net of repayments, rose to £ 4.5 billion ($5.86 billion) from £ 3.8 billion a month earlier. Business lending, however, fell slightly, with loans to non-financial businesses decreasing by £ 0.4 billion, compared with a 2.2 billion-pound increase in July.

The BOE last month cut its benchmark interest rate to a new low and lined up cheap funding for banks to ensure households and businesses have access to plentiful credit.

Separately, the BOE data showed that foreign investors holdings of U.K. government bonds rose in August, after falling slightly the previous month. Foreigners bought a net £ 1.8 billion of bonds, after selling £ 4.4 billion in July.

Tuesday's figures add to a mixed picture on the economy since Britons chose to leave the EU in a referendum June 23. Some surveys suggested the economy slowed in July, but others showed activity has since recovered.

Write to Wiktor Szary at Wiktor.Szary@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2016 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)