Total approvals numbered 43,000, up from 40,600 in the same month last year and significantly higher that the forecast of 39,300.
UK mortgage approvals rose in April to highest level seen since early 2017, according to the latest figures from UK Finance.
A total of 44,034 mortgages were approved in April, up from 40,564 in March. This is 8.6% up on the same period last year and represents the biggest annual increase in the figures since March 2016.
Overall net mortgage lending hit £1.795bn in April which was down on the figures from March.
Shepherd Ncube, founder and CEO of Springbok Properties, said: "Today's mortgage approval numbers are welcome relief from the negativity and uncertainty that many property market commentators have portrayed since the early days of Brexit yet buyer confidence is shrugging off the political shenanigans that would otherwise seek to paralyse our economy and the housing market.
"House prices, especially in the north, are seeing no signs of relenting and mortgage approvals being so buoyant is bound to now factor in to higher prices in a few months time."
But JohnGoodall, CEO of Landbay, was less impressed with the figures.
He said: “Mortgage lending remains subdued, and reflects the wider challenges facing the market.
"Lenders are having to push down mortgage rates for customers even as funding costs begin to rise, which has led to banks like Tesco bowing out of the market altogether.
"Prices have started to stabilise but until we have some clarity on the current political situation we’re unlikely to see a drastic rise in confidence, and subsequently lending."
HoweverGareth Lewis, commercial director of property lender MT Finance, said it was the best the market could hope for.
He added: "These figures are as good as we could expect, given the ongoing political uncertainty.
"House purchases are up, which is encouraging because it means people are still going ahead and buying property even though you might expect them to hold fire because of the political outlook.
"People are still willing to spend money on what is their biggest purchase, which is not a decision that is taken lightly.
