House purchase lending was up 18% year-on-year in November, totalling £10.7bn according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

This was a 9% drop on October’s figures as the expected winter lull arrived. But it was a strong month nonetheless.

First-time buyers borrowed £4.2bn for home-owner house purchase, up 14% on November last year. This totalled 27,900 loans, down 8% month-on-month but up 10% year-on-year.

And home movers took out 32,300 loans, down 10% month-on-month and up 9% compared to November 2014. In total, this was £6.5bn borrowed, down 10% on October but up 20% year-on-year.

Homeowner remortgage activity was down 9% by volume and 14% by value compared to October but showed signiicant annual increases. Compared to November 2014, remortgage lending was up 24% by volume and up 36% by value.

Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: “As expected, mortgage activity eased back as the normal dip in the winter months began. There was still growth across all lending types in November compared to the year earlier suggesting continued improvement.”

And Steve Griffiths, head of sales and distribution at Kensington, added: “Remortgage lending rose significantly over the course of the year and we expect this to increase further in the coming months as the argument for increasing the Base Rate continues to gain traction.”