HOUSE prices are growing at a robust pace this month while mortgage lending has surged as the housing markets heat up.

Estate agent Knight Frank’s house price sentiment indicator today scored 59.3 for September, with scores above 50 indicating price growth. The fastest current growth is in London.

Households’ overall expectations of price growth over the next 12 months nudged up to a score of 70 from 69.5. However, prices in the south are expected to rise much more quickly than those in the north.

Meanwhile, gross mortgage lending climbed 12 per cent year-on-year to £20bn last month, according to figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday.

“The index is still consistent with sustained house price growth across all UK regions,” said economist Tim Moore from Markit.

Bob Pannell, CML chief economist, said: “Mortgage lending is currently enjoying its best spell since 2008, on the back of a pick-up in house purchase and remortgage activity over the summer months.

“We expect further modest growth for the rest of the year, although affordability pressures are likely to limit gains for first-time buyers and home movers.”

A recent set of data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Sur­veyors shows that members expected high house price growth this year due to the supply of houses lagging far behind demand for them.

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