Mortgage approvals climbed to a ten-month high in November in a further sign that an £80 billion scheme to boost lending is beginning to make progress.
Bank of England figures showed there were 54,036 approvals for house purchases during the month worth £8.1 billion, the highest number since January last year.
The latest figures add to evidence that the Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) is working. The scheme, launched by the Bank and Treasury in August, aims to ease the flow of credit to households and firms by offering lenders access to cheap finance.
On Thursday, the Bank’s latest credit conditions survey showed mortgage availability rose significantly in the final three months of 2012, and said banks and building societies expect to ramp up lending significantly in the first quarter of 2013.