Mortgage approvals for house purchase hit a two-year high in July, Bank of England data shows.

The lending data showed there were 67,306 mortgage approvals for house purchase last month, up 1.2% on a monthly basis and the highest level since July 2017.

Approvals were also above the six-month average of 65,661.

The Bank of England was still cautious, though, stating: “This was the strongest since July 2017, but remains within the very narrow range seen over the past two years.”

It echoes UK Finance data that showed high street bank mortgage lending was on the rise.

The figures come despite HMRC data showing transactions are declining, which suggests there are fewer cash buyers in the market.

Commenting on the data, Michael Biemann, chief executive of digital property lender Selina Finance, said: “Mortgage approvals for house purchase hit a two-year high in July, suggesting that our looming departure from the EU is causing people to act rather than sit on their hands.

“Nobody knows quite what will happen if we leave the EU at the end of October and so people are taking action now, while they are still in control.

“A lot of households are concerned that borrowing costs could rise in the event of a chaotic exit from the EU and that the high street banks might stop offering credit if things get really messy.”