MORTGAGE lending reached a new record during October as buyers continued to return to the property market, figures revealed yesterday.

A total of £26.84bn was advanced during the month - the highest figure on record, according to the Bank of England.

At the same time, the value of home loans approved rose to £27.46bn, a level not seen since September 2003, when annual house price inflation was running at about 18 per cent.

The growth was driven by a jump in the number of mortgages approved for people buying a new property, which rose to 113,000 during the month, well up on the previous six-month average of 100,000 and the highest figure for 18 months.

The number of people looking to remortgage fell slightly during the month, with 111,000 new loans approved, down from 113,000 in September, but still ahead of the recent average of 104,000.