The housing market hit a lull in April with house purchase mortgage approvals down 19.4% since March, but small deposit borrowers are experiencing a boom.

Based on its own data, e.surv is predicting there were 57,512 approvals in April, down 14% year-on-year.

However, buyers getting on the property ladder with a small deposit, 15% or less, benefited from an increase in approvals, accounting for 19.1% in April to 10,985 loans, up from 17.1% in March.

The forecast comes ahead of official Bank of England figures.

According to e.surv, the south-east was the only region to see the proportion of small deposit loans stall, staying at 14% between March and April, while Northern Ireland had the biggest increase from 22% to 30%.

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said the mortgage market is entering a more turbulent phase due to the looming EU referendum, the hangover from the buy-to-let Stamp Duty rush, and uncertainty about the UK economy.