The number of loans approved for purchases and mortgage borrowing amounts both grew in September, research by the Bank of England has revealed.

Net lending, the figure which ignores repayments and redemptions, stood at £922 million, weaker than the August amount of £1.28 billion - but mortgages approved for house purchase rose by nearly 4,000 to 56,215.

The figures also highlight a downward revision on July estimates, which showed £292 million more had been repaid than borrowed that month - the first time lending had been negative since records began in 1993.

September's mortgage approval numbers are the highest since March last year.

But there was a further fall in the number of homeowners remortgaging, with those switching to a new deal dropping by 10% compared to August, to 25,528.

Overall lending through unsecured credit, such as credit cards, loans and overdrafts, was negative for the third month in a row.

Consumers repaid £262 million more than they borrowed through unsecured debt in the month.

Within this total, outstanding credit card debt rose by £79 million - a nine-month low - while money owed on loans and overdrafts fell by £341 million.

Analysts said that while the mortgage figures were positive, they should not be viewed as a sign that the housing market was out of the woods.

Vicky Redwood, UK economist at Capital Economics, said the rise in the number of mortgage approvals for house purchase was stronger than the recent data suggested.

"But the rise needs to be put in context - approvals are still around 60% down on their peak and point to renewed falls in house prices," she said.

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the figures implied that mortgage activity "continues to firm" from the record low seen in November last year.

"Nevertheless, this must be put into perspective," he said, adding that monthly approvals of around 70,000 to 80,000 are considered to be consistent with stable house prices.

He said the repayment of unsecured consumer credit was the consequence of a desire to reduce debt, as well as low demand for credit and a lack of loan availability from banks.

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