Mortgage approvals by building societies and other mutual lenders increased 54% on January 2011 to £1.7bn.
Adrian Coles, director-general of the BSA, said: “New lending and approvals for house purchase picked up across the market in January, perhaps in part due to first-time buyers taking advantage of the stamp duty holiday before it ends in March.
“Lending activity by mutuals was up significantly in January compared to the same month last year, continuing the trend of increased lending by the mutual sector seen throughout 2011.”
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “In recent years, building societies have re-established themselves in the mortgage market by increasingly providing competitive products and in many instances by offering more flexible lending criteria than some other providers.
“The figures released by the Building Societies Association today shows that consumers are once again taking advantage of these deals to purchase their first home, remortgage or buy a new property.
“At Mortgage Advice Bureau, we estimate that there are 95% more first-time buyer deals on the market than four years ago – with many of these from regional building societies. This bodes well for the mortgage market in 2012.”
