Lending to homebuyers in London rose by 11 per cent in the second quarter following a subdued start to the year.
Home buyers borrowed £6.1bn for house purchase in the capital – up 17 per cent year-on-year, according to figures from UK Finance.
Lending to first-time buyers (FTBs) rose by 10 per cent by value quarter on quarter, while home movers borrowed 11 per cent more than during Q1.
But remortgage activity fell 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 4 per cent year-on-year to £3.9bn.
The overall rise came despite a slight fall in affordability, with the income multiple edging up from 4 to 4.02 for first-time buyers and from 3.96 to 4.01 for home movers.
Regional analysis of the Halifax house price index has shown weakness in London house prices was the biggest contributor to slow house price growth.
Scotland saw the biggest increase in lending – a 35 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 18 per cent year-on-year climb to £2.5bn.
FTBs borrowed 29 per cent more than during Q1 and home movers 39 per cent more, while remortgaging activity fell by 7 per cent.
Wales witnessed a 26 per cent rise in lending to £1.1bn, driven by 26 per cent jumps in borrowing by FTBs and home movers.
Remortgaging was down 10 per cent by value on the first quarter but up 4 per cent on the same quarter last year.
There was a 17 per cent rise in lending to home buyers in Wales, with the total value of the loans reaching £420m.
Borrowing by FTBs jumped 15 per cent by value to £230m, while home movers borrowed £190m - 19 per cent more than the first quarter.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “First-time buyers are crucial to the smooth running of the housing market, but getting on the property ladder in London remains tricky unless you have significant financial assistance from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
“Lenders are doing their bit, offering a range of high loan-to-value deals at competitive rates, but the gap between property prices and incomes continues to grow.
“Innovative products which allow family members to help first-time buyers onto the property ladder, often without giving away huge chunks of cash, continue to grow in popularity as a result.”
simon.allin@ft.com
