Mortgage rates being at record lows are why gross home lending by all providers for July has been estimated at £23 billion, says Landbay chief John Goodall.
And accounting for seasonal factors, this figure is above the average lending figures seen over the past year, says UK Finance.
First time buyers and remortgage activity on the part of home owners has supported lending for some time, but the pace of growth is expected to slow slightly, dampened by a potentially more challenging economic outlook.
The data shows that British banks approved 1,587 mortgages for house purchases last month, up from 40,385 in June and 9 per cent higher than in July 2016.
And Mr Goodall, CEO and co-founder of buy-to-let specialist Landbay, said: "Mortgage lending levels are rising, chiefly because mortgage rates are currently at record lows, and both first time buyers and existing homeowners are taking the opportunity to lock in a good fixed or variable rate while they still can.
"The economic and political landscape is dampening suggestions we may see a base rate rise soon, but support for normalisation of monetary policy is growing. After seven years of rock bottom rates, we could soon see a volte-face from the Bank of England; one that will be felt by mortgage borrowers right across the UK.
"While the residential market is a hive of activity, the buy-to-let market is in a state of steady growth. The recent buy-to-let tax changes and new underwriting criteria have pushed some amateur landlords out of the market, but professional landlords are filling that void at the same pace. Indeed we may yet see a spike in buy to let borrowing ahead of the PRA changes for portfolio landlords in October, as investors make changes to their portfolios before the stricter lending criteria take root.”