The latest Money and Credit report showed net mortgage borrowing grew to £5.7 billion during the month which compared to £4.5 billion in October.

This was the highest level of borrowing experienced since March 2016, the BoE revealed, and it was also ‘significantly higher’ than the average of £3.9 billion seen in the six months to February 2020 – before the Covid crisis began to set in.

However, the recent strength of borrowing has not manged to offset the weakness experienced during the height of the first lockdown. During this time the total amount borrowed in the year to November was down on the equivalent in 2019. Indeed, in November 2019 net borrowing was at £44 billion compared to £37.6 in November 2020, said the BoE.

However, when it came to the number of approvals for purchases, the recent strength had ‘almost fully’ offset the weakness earlier in the year, according to the BoE.

Indeed, the number increased from 98,300 in October to 105,000, which is higher than the figure in August 2007, before the financial crisis.

And the 715,300 house purchase approvals up to November 2020, was close to the number during the same period in 2019 (722,000).

Approvals for remortgage – for remortgaging with a different lender – rose slightly in November to 35,100, but remained around 33% lower than in February 2020.

There was an uptick of 1.83% on effective interest rates on new borrowing.

Brokers: ‘Busiest time we’ve seen’

Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker, Coreco, said the number of mortgage approvals had a reached a 13-year high because of people’s desire to take advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday.

“The closing stages of 2020 were among the busiest we’ve ever been as a broker,” he said. “That looks set to continue in the first quarter, too, ahead of the looming Stamp Duty deadline.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Sealey, CEO of specialist short term lender Hope Capital, said these record-breaking numbers would continue to put pressure on the sector, and also on the government to act on the stamp duty holiday deadline.

“Another record month in mortgage approvals for November is a real positive for the housing market of course.

“And to see that the strength of activity has almost fully offset the significant weakness earlier in the year demonstrates how powerful the incentive of the stamp duty holiday has been.

“However, it is also likely to add to more pressure on the government to extend or modify the 31 March deadline for the [stamp duty] holiday. It will also add to pressure on the conveyancing sector as each month they deal with record-breaking numbers of purchases.

“That’s why specialist and short-term finance will play a critical role in the coming weeks, as that pressure increases with buyers hoping to complete their purchase before the end of March.

“Buyers and brokers need to look at alternative ways of getting the deal over the line at speed, and the specialist finance sector is in a position to make that happen.”