Monthly net mortgage approvals climbed to 62,600 in February, a total up from 60,200 in January, new Bank of England (BoE) data has revealed.

Approvals for remortgaging, which just capture remortgaging with a different lender, also registered an increased in February to 41,200, from 38,500 in January.

The BoE reported a climb in net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals in February, which increased to £4.8bn in February, from £4.2bn in January, and above the previous six-month average of £4.5bn. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending increased slightly to 3.4% in February, from 3.3%.

Secured gross lending also climbed slightly to £23.9bn, up from £23.6bn in January, which was slightly above the six-month average of £23.7bn. Repayments decreased in February, however, to £18.4bn from £18.8bn, and this was below the previous six-month average of £19.9bn.

Chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, Mark Harris, said that mortgage approvals picking up in February had demonstrating an “underlying resilience to the housing market”.

“Remortgaging numbers increased, suggesting that borrowers coming off low rates are mostly still shopping around for the best rate possible rather than opting for the ease of sticking with their existing lender,” Harris said.

“We expect this to increase in coming days and weeks as the pricing of new fixed-rate mortgages continues to rise."

Managing director of mortgage adviser Alexander Hall, Richard Merrett, added: “The current picture remains encouraging, particularly when you compare current market conditions to a year ago. Rates are lower, affordability has improved, and the average buyer is now considerably better off when it comes to the cost of their mortgage repayments.”

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