Mortgage sales in February rocketed 39%, according to Equifax Touchstone, exceeding all expectations.

Residential and buy-to-let sales by intermediaries totalled £16.6bn last month, with buy-to-let sales up by 40.3% on January while residential sales were up 38.6%.

The year-on-year increases for buy-to-let and residential sales were also huge, at 52.9% and 30.4% respectively.

London leading

Sales figures jumped in every region, with London taking the lead, rising by 50.6% on January. The rest of the country closely followed with the North West, Scotland and Northern Ireland all increasing by over 40% and all other regions growing in excess of 30%.

The average value of a residential mortgage arranged in February was £192,568, while buy-to-let loans were on average £157,491.

Iain Hill, relationship manager at Equifax Touchstone, said: “With the impending changes in Stamp Duty on buy-to-let property, we expected buy-to-let sales to jump in February. However, the residential figures have taken many market participants by surprise, also rising sharply and resulting in the highest month for mortgage sales since the 2008 market crash.

“We expect sales volumes to remain strong in March, and it will be interesting to see if the market can cope with the inevitable pressures that come with the increased demand.”