Net mortgage borrowing hit £5.2bn this January, says the Bank of England, slightly down on the £5.3bn recorded in December 2020.

This “robust” performance, as the BoE puts it, comes as 99,000 house purchases were approved in January at a value of £21.7bn, which compares to 102,800 at a value of £22.2bn the month previous.

The previous six month average currently runs at 91,900 approvals with a value of £19.3bn.

Meanwhile, 32,400 remortgages were approved at a value of £6.3bn in January compared to 33,700 at a value of £6.4bn the month before.

The six month average for this metric stands at 34,400 in number and £6.4bn in value.

MT Finance director Joshua Elash says: “There is an astounding level of liquidity in the market at a time when the economy itself is in a state of partial paralysis. It is unusual and feels dysfunctional.

“Consumer borrowing is down, as lockdown continues to bite into people’s ability to go out, shop, and enjoy the things in life we usually take for granted. This new reality has meant that households continue to deposit savings at remarkable levels, given that interest rates are at historically low levels.

“Net mortgage borrowing is also robust, encouraged by the stamp duty holiday and effective interest rates as low as 1.85 per cent.

“With the chancellor rumoured to be rolling out a mortgage guarantee scheme, which will see the return of higher loan-to-value deals, this trend will continue, leading to serious inflation in property prices.”