There were £19.1bn worth of home purchase mortgages in July – the highest monthly figure since the property market collapsed in August 2008.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, lending to home buyers was 7% higher in July than in June, and up 15% on July last year.

In August 2008, lending for house purchase was £19.3bn.

The CML said it concludes that a “robust market” is emerging after the Mortgage Market Review.

However, the organisation’s analyst Caroline Offord said: “The eventual impact [of MMR]  remains uncertain.

“Property transactions in the first half of the year showed a 25% increase compared to the same period a year ago, but we expect that intensifying affordability pressures could start to dampen this upward trend.”