Around 23,376 mortgages were approved for house purchase in January - up 4% from 22,416 in December. However, the number of approvals in January was still 43% lower than the same month in 2008. Remortgage approvals, at 30,710, were also higher than December 2008.
Commenting, BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said: “The high street banks’ mortgage lending is still seeing double-digit annual growth, albeit in a much slower market.
“Lower borrowing costs and falling property prices have underpinned demand at these lenders, who are providing over two-thirds of all new mortgage lending.”
