The trade body reported that lending during the first month of the year reached £5.7bn, up from the £5.2bn recorded last January.
The CML said that 38,300 loans were advanced during the first month of the year, a rise from the 34,600 loans advanced last January. This was the highest January total since the start of 2008.
However, both numbers were down on December 2012 when 45,900 loans totalling £6.9bn were completed, the CML attributed these falls to natural seasonal demand.
CML director-general Paul Smee said: “Seasonal factors clearly had an impact on lending figures in January, but it still remains the best start to a year since 2008.
“Mortgage finance is available and lenders are open for business, allowing more borrowers to take the step into homeownership or move house in line with their needs.”
The year-on-year rises were driven by a boost in first-time buyer numbers with a total of 15,900 loans were advanced to first-time buyers in January, worth £2bn.
The research also said that first-timers were shifting towards buying cheaper homes with the proportion of properties bought for less than £125,000 on the increase. The average loan-to-value ratio required for first-time buyers remained flat at 80%.
Ben Thompson, managing director at Legal & General Mortgage Club, commented: “It is clear that we are at a crucial stage of the housing market recovery.
“We have seen a variety of data suggesting that the market is ‘flattening out’ as a prelude to a slow and steady climb back to something which could be termed ‘normality’.
“The challenge now is for the Chancellor to encourage this tentative recovery as much as possible in the Budget. Whether through mortgage innovation, mortgage insurance, a change in stamp duty rules or a combination of all three we simply need to help the very welcome but fragile recovery that FLS has stimulated.”
Remortgage lending appears to have plateaued after consistent falls during the past year. The market in January was £3bn, nearly a quarter lower than at the same point last year.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, added: “Remortgaging numbers are still subdued, perhaps surprisingly when there are so many excellent deals out there at the moment.
“It may be that borrowers are sat on attractive reversion rates or SVRs so don’t wish to remortgage, or perhaps they are trapped because of tighter criteria or lack of equity in their homes so can’t switch.”
