Mortgage lending in January is estimated to have been £21.9bn, 9.7% higher than a year earlier, according to UK Finance.

The figure is also slightly above the monthly average of £21.4bn for 2017.

Card spending was 5.8% higher than in January 2017, said the trade body, although higher repayment levels meant that the pace of borrowing saw little change, growing at 4.8% annually.

Eric Leenders, managing director, personal finance at UK Finance said: “Gross mortgage lending in January increased by almost 10% compared to the same period last year, and was higher than the monthly average, as customers took advantage of mortgage deals on offer at the end of 2017.”

Henry Woodcock, principal mortgage consultant at IRESS, added: “This year on year increase has followed the lowest December lending for three years, and the lowest number of approvals since February 2015.

“Although this is a positive start to the year, conditions are likely to continue to be challenging. House prices have been rising at their slowest pace over the last six months and consumer confidence has been wavering with average wages falling in real terms due to rising inflation.

“As the Bank of England has talked about interest rates rising sooner rather than later and more than once in the year, February could see a rush to secure a loan at the best rate before lenders are pushed to remove their most competitive deals.”