There were 72,930 mortgage approvals for house purchase last month, it has been predicted.

If correct, the number will be almost 20% up on September last year.

The forecast, from LSL chartered surveying firm e.surv, suggests that last month’s house purchase approvals were at the highest level since January 2014 – the last month of support for mortgage lending via the Funding for Lending scheme.

In good news for first-time buyers, the e.surv forecast also says that small deposit lending last month hit the highest level since the crash – now accounting for 18.1% of all purchase approvals.

The September figure for mortgage approvals for house purchase was 2.7% up on August.

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, said: “Mortgage lending is enjoying a late summer.

“With interest rate speculation dying down and a rate hike before next year appearing increasingly unlikely, lenders’ appetite for growth appears unchanged.”

The e.surv data is drawn from its own mortgages valuation activity, and is published ahead of the Bank of England’s own mortgage data – usually with great accuracy.

• Separately, it has been claimed that transactions at the top end of the London market are 40% down compared with this time a year ago. Buying agency Property Vision says the market has gone into reverse since the election in May and that September’s usual activity has not materialised.