Building societies and other mutuals accounted for 21% of gross mortgage lending, or £2.7 billion of loans, in the UK in November 2012.
Between January and November 2012 mutuals lent £28.3 billion of mortgages (gross), accounting for 22% of the whole market.
This accounted over 61,000 loans to first-time buyers, up from 36,000 loans in the same period in 2011.
Looking ahead to future completions, mutuals approved 24,800 new mortgage loans in November 2012, 19% higher than the 20,800 loans approved in November 2011.
Net mortgage lending by mutuals was £0.6 billion in November 2012. Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy, Building Societies Association, said: "Mortgage lending by building societies and other mutuals increased substantially in 2012 based on the data we have published today for the first 11 months of the year.
“Mutual lenders accounted for a greater share of total gross lending in this period than over the equivalent period in 2011, showing that the sector has stepped up to the plate and supported many of those looking to purchase a home.
"Importantly, this new lending has been broadly spread, including many first-time buyers and borrowers with lower levels of deposit. In the first eleven months of 2012, over 61,000 loans were made by mutuals to help people buy their first home, compared to 36,000 in the same period a year earlier.”
Mr Broadhead said that the next few months would show whether this was the start of a trend.
