Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: “The CML figures are a clear indication that borrowers have moved their house purchase decisions forward to April and May in anticipation of the recent rate rises.

“The planned introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) in July and the increased number of sellers on the market may have further contributed to this early peak in house buying.”

The rate of increase was not as strong as has been seen in previous years, however.

From May to June 2006 mortgage lending grew by 12 %, and for the same period in 2005 the rate of increase was 15 %.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said: “Despite record mortgage lending, there are signs that the market is feeling the cumulative effects of the five interest rate rises we have seen over the past year.

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“This will become much more evident in the coming months as borrowers with fixed-rate mortgages come off their existing deals into a significantly higher interest rate environment.”