Mortgage lending in the first quarter of 2022 totalled £76.9bn, up £6.7bn compared to the previous quarter, according to figures released from the Bank of England.

But this was still 7.5% lower than lending in the first quarter of 2021, when buyers were rushing to take advantage of the end of the stamp duty holiday.

The value of new mortgage commitments (lending that has been agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 6.7% greater than the previous quarter and 6.6% greater than a year earlier, at £82.5bn.

Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter, said of the figures: “The Bank of England’s latest mortgage lenders and administrators statistics show the property market continued to move at a rapid pace in Q1 of this year, though this is unlikely to last. By the end of Q1 2022, the outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,630.5 billion – 4.4% higher than the previous year.

“The data show that the value of gross mortgage advances reached £76.9 billion – up £6.7 billion on the previous quarter. Mortgage lending in Q1 2022 was 7.5% lower compared to the same period a year earlier, which suggests the rush to buy is finally slowing.

“Throughout the rest of the year, we are likely to see mortgage lending drop as more people are priced out of the market by the rising cost of living and BoE interest rate hikes, as well as being put off by the continuing economic uncertainty.”

The figures showed that the value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,630.5 billion at the end of 2022 Q1, 4.4% higher than a year earlier.