Borrowers secured an additional £6.2bn in mortgage borrowing last month which is the highest level since March 2016, according to the latest data from the Bank of England.

Mortgage approvals were up 38% on the long-term average, as demand from buyers continues to grow, the figures show.

Approvals fell marginally compared with January but are expected to increase sharply following the extension of the stamp duty tax holiday and the introduction of the new 95% loan-to-value mortgage guarantee; good news for agents.

A total of 87,700 mortgages for new house purchases were approved in February, compared to an average of 63,500 over the past 10 years.

This represented a drop compared to the peak of 103,700 approvals in November 2020, and also a 10% fall compared to the 97,400 approved in January 2021.

But the data was recorded at a time when purchasers believed they were unlikely to benefit from the government’s stamp duty holiday, which could save them up to £15,000 on their property acquisition.

As many of you will already know, the holiday will continue in its existing form until the end of June, and then with a lower nil rate band of £250,000 until the end of September which is likely to mean mortgage approvals increase over the next few month, as buyers rush to secure new property deals.

Ashley Thomas, director of Magni Finance, added: “There is a lot of confidence in the housing market right now. Due to the extension of the Stamp Duty relief scheme and the success of the vaccination programme, more and more people see now as a great time to move.”

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