"Following the outstanding November figures for small deposit borrowers, some drop off was to be expected in December."
December defied the usual seasonal slowdown with a 7.8% annual rise and a 4.2% monthly increase in approvals to 66,390.
The rise has been attributed to growing competition between lenders which has kept rates low.
Lenders also became more receptive to first-time buyers and others with smaller deposits, with a rise in the number of 5% deposit mortgage deals on the market.
By December, 25.2% of all loans went to borrowers with a small deposit. This was marginally down on November’s 25.9% figure, but higher than other recent months.
Richard Sexton, director at e.surv, commented: “2018 saw the second base rate rise in less than a year, continued uncertainty over Brexit and wider global economic issues. Yet the mortgage market demonstrated its resilience with strong activity in most segments of the market.
“First-time buyers, remortgage customers and second steppers all jumped at the chance to bag a cheap mortgage rate while they last.
“Following the outstanding November figures for small deposit borrowers, some drop off was to be expected in December. Even so, almost 17,000 first-time buyers and other small deposit borrowers were able to get onto the housing ladder this month.
“The outlook for 2019 is again one of uncertainty, but the figures from the final few months of 2018 suggest that the mortgage market has the power to battle through tough market conditions.”
