This took the total amount of outstanding mortgages at the end of the year to £781.5m, a rise of 0.5% in net lending compared to the previous year, based on non-seasonally adjusted figures.
In the last month of the year, 33,895 loans were approved for mortgages, 18,257 loans were issued to remortgage borrowers while 7,147 were approved for other secured lending.
Compared to December 2012, the amount of house purchase approvals increased by 50%, remortgages by 26% and other secured lending fell by 3.8%
Paul Hunt, managing director of Phoebus Software, said: “Strong demand and the combination of competitive mortgage finance, rising positive sentiment and a growing economy have helped boost mortgage lending to the highest level it has been for some time.
“The Help to Buy scheme will continue to enfranchise many first-time buyers, allowing them to get onto the housing ladder, unlocking stagnant chains and creating better liquidity in the market overall.”
