The value of new mortgage commitments in Q4 2020 came to £87.7bn, says the Bank of England, which is an annual rise of 24.2 per cent.

The figure comes from the bank’s mortgage lenders and administrators statistics release, data aggregated from 340 regulated lenders and administrators.

The data also shows that the outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans at the end of 2020 came to £1,541.4bn, which is 2.9 per cent higher than a year earlier.

And the value of gross mortgage advances in the final quarter of last year rose 4.2 per cent than in Q4 2019, to £76.6bn.

The report shows that higher-LTV mortgages were tougher to find in the final months of last year – the share of mortgages advanced above 90 per cent LTV was 4.5 per cent lower than Q4 2019, coming to 1.2 per cent. This, the BoE points out, is the lowest level seen since statistics were first collected, in 2007.

Meanwhile, the value of outstanding balances with some arrears grew by 3.4 per cent from Q3 2020 to Q4 2020 to £14.3bn.

In total, 0.93 per cent of outstanding mortgage balances have some arrears, the bank adds.

North London estate agent and former Rics residential chairman Jeremy Leaf comments: “Although a little dated, these comprehensive figures clearly illustrate the tidal wave of transactions trying to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, prior to its recent extension.

“Since a pause in January and early February, speculation about the 31 March deadline being moved, easing of lockdown and success of the vaccination rollout, have all resulted in the tearing up of many house price fall predictions.

“As a result, we are likely to see a market much more balanced between supply and demand but fewer sales as so many buyers and sellers brought forward their decision-making.”