UK mortgage lending rose by its biggest amount in nearly three years in July, while approvals for new house loans hit their highest since the start of the year, the latest official data shows.
Figures from the Bank of England showed mortgage lending rose last month by £9.79 billion sterling, the biggest jump since September 2003 and above a consensus forecast of £9.2 billion.
Approvals for new loans, a leading indicator of the housing market, also picked up to number 120,000 in July, up from a downwardly revised 119,000 the month before and the highest since January.
The figures provide further evidence that Britain's housing market has picked up again, but economists are waiting for August figures to see what effect, if any, the Bank of England's surprise interest rate rise may have had on sentiment.
Unsecured lending, meanwhile, also grew more than expected.
The BoE said consumer credit rose by £1.122 billion last month, up from the £833m rise seen in June and higher than analysts' forecasts of a £1 billion increase.
That boosted overall lending by nearly £11 billion in July, its biggest increase since June 2004 when house prices were rising at double digit rates and commentators were sounding alarms about heavily-indebted British consumers
