The number of mortgages approved for house purchase reached its highest level for two years.

According to the British Bankers’ Association, a total of 44,713 loans were approved for people buying a home during the month, which was 152 per cent above the low point reached in November last year.

But the group warned that the huge year-on-year jump reflected the weakness of the market in 2008, rather than a stronger market now, although it added approvals were slightly higher than they were two years ago.

The BBA said there was also a slight increase in net mortgage lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, with this rising to £3.3 billion in November, its highest level since February.

But the number of loans approved for people re-mortgaging remained subdued, as the low base rate meant many people were better off staying on their lenders’ standard variable rate when their existing deal came to an end.

There were only 22,360 re-mortgage loans in the pipeline during November, two-thirds lower than in the same month of 2007.

The number of people withdrawing equity from their property is also running at around half the level seen two years ago.