The value of mortgages issued for house purchase grew to £43.5 billion according to statistics released by the Bank of England.
The percentage of loans for house purchase also increased, up from 67.6% in Q2 to 70.1% in Q3, with a comparable 26.2% to 24.1% fall in the percentage of loans issued as remortgages.
The news comes as buyers look to secure mortgages before an expected increase in Bank of England interest rates in the early part of 2016.
Peter Rollings, CEO of estate agents Marsh & Parsons, expects more changes in the market as the stamp duty reforms are introduced.
Peter Rollings said: “Mortgage lending continued to press on during the penultimate quarter of the year, and we can expect to see borrowing advance further after the Chancellor’s stimuli unveiled in the Autumn Statement.
“With £15 billion of funding for housing measures taking prominence in his agenda, this will have given the green light to a queue of first-time buyers – particularly in London, where there will be a designated Help to Buy scheme to reflect the accelerated house price growth in the capital, and the extra booster needed to help buyers onto the ladder.
“First-time buyers have already been making tracks in Q3, and in London we’ve seen this as part of wider demographic shift as domestic players and mortgage buyers become more prevalent in the housing market, while overseas investors take a temporary step back to digest the higher stamp duty payable on top-end purchases.
“But proportionally, across the country, remortgaging activity has been taking up a larger chunk of the lending pie recently, as existing homeowners try to build up their defences ahead of an expected interest rate rise in 2016.
“But the rankings may change in the run up to April’s stamp duty increase for second homes, and buy-to-let lending is likely to rev up quickly, as investors act before the finishing flag for current conditions.”
