A modest recovery is under way, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported, with mortgage lending in May the highest monthly total so far in 2015.

It says that lending in May rose by 2% on the previous month to stand at £16.2bn, but was 3% lower than the £16.8bn of May last year.

CML economist Mohammad Jamei said: “The economic environment is one that supports increased activity in the near term, coupled with low mortgage rates.

“But while we expect these factors to support activity, there is a limited upside, driven mainly by affordability constraints.”