There were 70,410 mortgage approvals for house purchase in November, the Bank of England has reported.

This was up on the average of 68,428 over the previous six months.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “Lenders’ appetite for new business grew significantly over the course of 2015, and this is expected to continue into 2016.

“This means those who meet affordability criteria will continue to enjoy the excellent deals available in the marketplace.”

David Catt, chief operating officer at Hometrack, said: “The figures illustrate the continued growth in lending which has underpinned the pick-up in house prices over the past 12 months. However, the pick-up remains off a very low base compared to pre-2009.

“Lenders’ business plans will be factoring in an acceleration in lending growth in 2016.

“However, buy-to-let was a major driver of lending volumes in 2015 and this sector of the market grew by 17%.

“The changes announced by the Chancellor on tax relief for higher rate taxpayers and stamp duty are set to slow the speed of growth in the buy-to-let market from spring onwards.

“The tax changes could well result in some disinvestment over the next three years as borrowers reduce leverage to align to the lower level of interest tax relief.

“We still expect some further growth in buy-to-let lending over 2016 but at a much reduced rate.”