Gross lending in the first eight months stands at £26.1bn some 30% higher than the same period of 2012.
Mutuals market share for the first eight months of the year now stands at 24%, up from 21% last year.
Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, said: “Mutual lenders have sustained their activity in, and support for, the UK housing market and home-buyers over the long-term.
“Consumer sentiment has now clearly turned the corner and is beginning to improve. However, sentiment can be fragile and it is vital that unexpected surprises and overheated rhetoric are avoided.
“Viewing today’s market in context, it is certainly getting better, however, the number of loans approved for house purchase in the past three months ran at around 60,000 a month, less than two thirds of the historic average .”
Coles also warned of that more needs to be done to fix the current lack of housing supply which the UK faces and welcomed recent political interest in the issue.
He said: “To deliver solutions to the growing housing needs of the UK and to provide balance to the supply/demand equation that drives prices, there is no doubt that we need more homes to be built.
“We welcome the focus from all political parties on the imperative to address this and other housing issues. This attention has been evident both from the platform speeches and plethora of housing related fringe meetings at party conferences.
“This is a debate in which the BSA and its members will remain active as policies develop. Following David Cameron’s announcement over the weekend we may see some lenders start to take Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee applications.”
