The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said UK mortgage lending increased by 14% in December compared with November, to £13.7bn and the market was entitled as being ’surprisingly strong’.

The latest figures from the CML show that UK mortgage lending was up 3% in December compared with the same month a year earlier.

A CML economist said that the December lending figure was “surprisingly strong” as seasonal factors usually meant a slowdown compared with November.

“Evidence suggests that the rise was driven by a surge in house purchase completions,” he said.

“The most likely explanation is that buyers of cheaper property wanted to complete their transactions before the end of the year to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday.”

He predicted that the mortgage market would be stronger in 2010 than in 2009.