New figures from the Bank of England suggest that the house market experienced more growth during May with an increase in the number of mortgages approved.

The number of mortgages approved for house buying rose to 43,414, up from 43,191 approvals in April. It was the fourth month in a row that approvals have risen, suggesting that the recent increase in sales is likely to continue.

Despite the growth in mortgage lending, net lending for house buying in May, by all lenders, grew by just £324m – the smallest monthly increase on record.