Approvals for house purchases rose to 67,518, from 63,594 in September. Remortgaging approvals went up from 42,606 to 43,513.

Lending figures also recovered in October, with loans totalling £19.9bn, up from £19.1bn a month earlier. The Bank’s figures for September showed that gross mortgage lending fell from £19.6bn in August, after seeing monthly rises since May.

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent, said the figures showed that short-term fears surrounding Brexit had been understated.

“Needless to say, the real test of the market will come in early 2017 when we will see whether or not these approvals have been translated into increases in sales,” he said.

“The figures are particularly welcome at this time of year when people have other things on their mind and we expect a slowdown in the run up to Christmas. We wait with anticipation as to how people will respond in the new year. However, even with the festive season almost upon us there is still a determination among many to get on with buying and selling at realistic price levels.”

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