Mortgage lending to those buying a home was up in August, beating the previous month and the year-on-year figures, according to trade body, UK Finance.

Both lending to first-time buyers and homemovers rose by value and number of loans. However, there was a fall in both the number of people remortgaging and the value of lending to switchers between July and August.

First-time buyers borrowed £5.7bn, 16% up on July and 12% higher than in August 2016. They took out 34,400 mortgages, 14% up on the preceding month and 9% more year-on-year.

Homemovers borrowed £8.4bn, 18% more than in July and 20% more than in August last year. This totalled 38,500 loans, up 17% on July and 13% on August 2016.

Remortgaging fell to £6.4bn, 4% less than in July but still 8% more than in August 2016. The number of people switching their mortgage totalled 36,700, down 1% on July but 5% higher than a year ago in the aftermath of the EU Referendum and snap General Election.

UK Finance’s head of mortgages policy, June Deasy, said: “Activity picked up in August, and recent resilience ensured that borrowing by home movers was at its highest since March 2016, when transactions were boosted by an imminent increase in Stamp Duty.

“Over the last 12 months, the number of people remortaging has been higher than in any period since late 2009. With mortgage rates close to historic lows and the likelihood of a rise in official rates moving closer, the popularity of remortgaging looks set to continue.”