The housing market saw a rise in house sale, as confirmed yesterday when the British Bankers' Association revealed that the number of mortgages approved jumped to the highest level for more than two years in December. This came as a result of homebuyers rushing to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

During November, 60,518 loans for people buying a new home were in the pipeline, which was more than double the record seen in November 2008. The total mortgage advances rose by 6 per cent during this month to reach £10.2bn.

David Dooks, BBA Statistics Director, said, "The high-street banks continued to lend substantial amounts in the weaker mortgage market of 2009, approving more than 440,000 loans for house purchase".

Brian Murphy, head of lending at independent mortgage said, "What we are likely to see in January and February, is an unusually large drop off in mortgage purchases, because sales which would normally have been concluded in the first two months of this year have been pushed through in December to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline."

This leap, according to BBA, was because of people racing to complete home purchases before the end of the stamp duty holiday on properties costing up to £175,000. But now the holiday is over, and stamp duty will be added to cost of buying homes between £125,000 and £175,000 and experts expect the rise to be followed by a pause in the market. According to the British Bankers' Association, a total of 45,897 loans were approved during December.