Mortgage lending in Britain rebounded in June following a pause in May as demand remained strong, reports said today.
A second set of figures showed that approvals for new mortgages remained high last month, pointing to further strong mortgage lending in the months ahead as those transactions are completed.
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) said underlying mortgage lending rose in June by £6.5 billion sterling, a sharp pickup from £5.1 billion in May that follows a warning from the BBA last month that an apparent slowdown was far from certain.
"Following relatively weak data in May, the major banks' mortgage lending bounced back in June, recording a rise well above the recent average," said BBA executive director Mr Roger Brown.
Separate data from the Building Societies' Association showed that seasonally adjusted mortgage approvals - loans agreed but not yet made - rose to £4.27 billion in June, up slightly from £4.23 billion in May and sharply higher than the £3.4 billion seen one year ago.
A third report, from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, showed a £3.7 billion increase in mortgage lending in June. It said that its measure of total lending for house purchase hit its highest ever monthly figure, at £13.6 billion, up 13 per cent compared with May and up 40 per cent on a year ago.