The Bank of England has reported that there were 60,786 mortgage approvals for house purchase in January, compared to the average of 61,666 over the previous six months.

The figure was slightly up from December’s 60,349 approvals.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “Mortgage activity traditionally slows around the turn of the year, so a slight dip in overall loan approvals during January is not unexpected.

“Even so, December’s Stamp Duty overhaul gave an added incentive for many would-be home buyers to progress their moving plans.”