Gross UK mortgage lending in July was 29% up from last July, and 12% from June, taking the total to £16.7 billion.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders figures showed total home-owner house purchase lending continued to grow with 57,400 house purchase loans advanced in July, an increase of 9% on June and up by 21% on July last year.
First-time buyer activity also continued its strong growth with 25,300 loans taken out in July, an increase of 5% on June and of 41% compared to July 2012.
The strong growth in lending to first-time buyers since the beginning of the year has continued, with the number of loans advanced increasing by 5% compared to June.
The typical first-time buyer loan size stayed almost unchanged from June at £117,038, while average first-time buyer household income increased to £36,142 from £35,873 in June.
Mark Blackwell, Managing Director of xit2, property data specialists, said: "[The] figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show encouraging results providing optimism with growth being driven by first time buyers getting access to higher LTV (loan-to-value) borrowing whilst home movers are holding their own, showing some resilience despite reduced equity and less flexible underwriting.
“There is dramatic movement in the buy-to-let market symptomatic of affordability and supply, with on-going cheap loans and investors getting in before rates and prices go up further – capital growth is back on the agenda.”
