The July figures show the overall value of mortgages approved went from £8.9bn to £9.7bn with approvals for house purchases representing £5.2bn out of that total.
They stood at 38,181, increasing slightly from the June’s figure of 35,564 loans and are now 77% higher than July 2008. Remortgage levels also edged up slightly from 28,454 loans to 30,600.
The data suggested banks had been more forthcoming in making mortgages available to potential buyers with the average amount borrowed standing at £139,700 in July.
Borrowing on remortgages also increased month-on-month to 30,600, with the average loan worth £131,100. However, while the number was slightly up on the previous month, it remained down by 42% on July last year.
Gross mortgage lending grew from £8.1bn in June to £8.4bn in July as approvals worked their way through into lending data. However, it was still down by 39.2% against last July.
Net mortgage lending rose by £1.6bn in July, compared with a £2.2bn increase in June although the increase was well below seasonal expectations.
However, David Dooks, statistics director at the BBA, said net rises in lending remain relatively weak because new lending is largely being offset by repayments.
He added: “The numbers of mortgages approved for house purchase each month by the high street banks have continued to recover from last November’s low point, but new lending is largely being offset by repayments, so net rises remain relatively weak.”
