Net mortgage lending rose by £875m and compared to £473m in March and is now at its highest since December.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, said: “The mortgage market is much stronger than it was six months ago.
“Lender confidence is more durable compared to the brittleness of the last few years and that is helping more first-time buyers get a mortgage.”
House purchase lending is now at its highest and most consistent level since the financial crisis and there were 14% more house purchase loans to high loan to value borrowers compared to April last year.
Sexton added: “Rates are low, criteria have eased slightly and there is a wider choice of high LTV mortgages.
“But the improvements are being stymied slightly by the unholy trinity of weak wage growth, rising costs of living, and meagre savings rates.
“On the supply side, lenders will find it difficult to significantly increase the amounts they lend. Their hands are still tied by turbulent money markets and punitive regulatory and restructuring requirements that will leach away funds which could be used for new lending.
“It will still require a significant tour de force in the economy if the mortgage market is to fully regain its va-va-voom.”
