The number of mortgages being handed out to first-time buyers was higher year on year for the fifth month in a row in February, according to trade association UK Finance.
It said 24,880 new first-time buyer mortgages were completed in February, 4.1 per cent more than in the same month in 2018.
Meanwhile 23,660 mortgages were handed out to home-movers in February - a slight 0.1 per cent year-on-year increase.
UK Finance said that, while home-mover numbers are at around the same levels they were at this time last year, this is the fifth month in a row of year-on-year growth in first-time buyers.
Re-mortgaging levels also increased in February compared with a year earlier.
There were 18,200 new re-mortgage loans where additional amounts were borrowed in February, 10 per cent more than in the same month in 2018.
For these re-mortgages, the average amount taken out in February was £52,000.
Additionally, there were 18,360 re-mortgages with no additional borrowing, 7.8 per cent more than in the same period last year.
The average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio in the re-mortgaging market was 57 per cent - considerably lower than the average LTV ratio of 72 per cent for mortgages taken out by home-buyers.
Meanwhile, there were 4,800 new buy-to-let home purchase mortgages completed in February 2019, 7.7 per cent down on the same month in 2018.
UK Finance said that, while buy-to-let house purchases continue to contract due to tax and regulatory changes, buy-to-let re-mortgaging has been increasing as borrowers lock into new attractive rates.
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