18 July 2013 Last updated at 05:13 ET
Mortgage lending has been rising during the first half of the year
The UK housing market is witnessing a "meaningful recovery", lenders say, but activity among first-time buyers remains well below the boom years.
Gross mortgage lending in June was up 2% on the previous month, and 26% higher than June 2012, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said.
The total of £14.7bn was the highest level of lending since October 2008.
However, Bank of England figures show the rise in borrowing has not been seen among small businesses.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23354548#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
_Free_Online.gif)
