Gross mortgage lending across the residential market in July 2019 was £26.1bn, 2.9% higher than the same month in 2018 and the highest since March 2016, latest statistics from UK Finance have revealed.

In its latest Household Finance Update, UK Finance said there were 95,126 mortgages approved by the main high street banks in July 2019, the highest monthly total since July 2009 when the figure stood at 99,970. Mortgage approvals for home purchase were 16.4% higher, remortgage approvals were 19.4% and approvals for other secured borrowing were 12.7% higher than the same month a year earlier.

The £12bn of credit card spending in July 2019 was 8.2% higher than in July 2018 and reached its highest level on record. Repayments were also the highest level on record, showing that consumers are managing their finances effectively overall. The level of credit card borrowing grew by 3.8% in the year to July 2019.

Personal borrowing through loans in July 2019 was 9.3% higher than the same month a year earlier, but remains lower than the levels seen during 2015 to 2017. Overdraft borrowing was 1.7% higher in July 2019 than the same month a year earlier, while the longer-term trend has seen overdraft borrowing decline.

Personal deposits grew by 1.6% in the year to July 2019. Three-quarters of deposits were held in immediate access accounts in July 2019, in line with the same period last year.

“Mortgage approvals haven’t reached these dizzying heights since the depths of the financial crash so it’s quite remarkable it’s taken us a decade to get here,” Responsible Lending development director Tim Waterlow said.

“This fact alone drives home the long-lasting impact the crash has had on the housing market and, with murmurings around Europe of more economic turmoil, lenders will be hoping this is not a peak before yet another collapse.

“At the same time, the jump in mortgage approvals for home purchase provides some hope in the face of the ceaseless decline in transaction figures, which show sales of homes are as much in the doldrums as ever. Lenders will be hoping this latest data could point to the housing market’s Phoenix moment and the start of a new recovery in transaction volumes.”

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