Mortgage lending for August reached an estimated £24.2bn, said UK Finance, of which £15.1bn was lent by high street banks.

The financial association said that, after accounting for seasonal factors, this figure is broadly in line with monthly lending over the course of 2017.

There were 41,807 house purchase approvals by high street banks in August, stronger than the monthly average of 41,133 over the last six months and 11% higher than the same time last year. However the market last August was still subdued following the referendum result.

UK Finance’s senior economist, Mohammad Jamei, said: “Housing market activity is in Goldilocks territory, growing only modestly since the start of the year, though the mix of activity has shifted towards first-time buyers, away from buy-to-let and cash.

“There is also some rebalancing across regions, as activity picks up in the north of England, Wales and Scotland, away from London, the south east and east Anglia.”

Jeff Knight, marketing director of Foundation Home Loans, added: “Record low mortgage rates continue to sustain market activity, but given even the most dovish members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee are now adding to the calls for an interest rate rise, this picture could very quickly change. A ‘wait and see’ approach is best avoided for first-time buyers and existing owners considering remortgaging.”