The value of house purchases across the UK in December 2019 was 8.4 per cent higher than in December 2018, latest figures from UK Finance reveal.

In December 2018, the value of house purchases was recorded at £26bn, while in December 2019, this figure stood at £32bn.

The value of remortgages also rose in December 2019, increasing by 5.5 per cent, from a value of £20bn in December 2018, to nearly £27bn in December 2019.

Gross lending across the whole market in December of last year was 4.6 per cent higher than in December 2018. In that year, the value stood at £20bn, and in December 2019, £22bn.

In the whole of 2019, 982,286 mortgages were approved by high street banks, which is 7.4 per cent more than in 2018.

SPF Private Clients chief executive Mark Harris says: “2019 turned out to be a strong year for the mortgage market, even with disruptive headwinds caused by Brexit and a general election. Lenders remained keen to lend and offered the rock-bottom mortgage deals to prove it.

“With transaction levels low, many lenders did not do as much lending as they would have liked, which means there is plenty of cash left in the pot for this year. As a number of lenders have already cut mortgage rates this year, it looks like a good time to be a borrower, not so much a saver.”

Landbay chief executive and co-founder John Goodall comments: “Even without any clarification on Britain’s trading relationship with the EU, mortgage lending in the UK looks encouraging for the coming months.

“These strong approval figures reflect improving consumer confidence fuelling a further rise in mortgage lending as demand, previously contained by would-be buyers, is released”.

North London estate agent Jeremy Leaf adds: “It is perhaps disappointing that mortgage lending dipped slightly in 2019, but there is not much in it and UK Finance suggests that there is still a stronger long-term lending trend.

“What is apparent is that demand cannot remain pent-up indefinitely and, on the ground, we have not been surprised by the determination of some buyers to take advantage of improving affordability from almost record-low mortgage rates and rising real wages.

“The extent of any post-election ‘bounce’ will probably be determined not only by an ability to match buyer and seller expectations but early clarification of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU. Any uplift is likely to be noticed most in areas where the ratio of house prices to earnings is low.”