Gross mortgage lending was an estimated £11.5 billion in March, a 24% rise from £9.3 billion in February and a 3% rise from £11.2 billion in March 2009.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says its latest figures are in line with the typical seasonal pattern of a rise in lending volumes in March.

Gross lending for the first quarter of 2010 was therefore an estimated £29.5 billion, a 24% decline from the fourth quarter of 2009 (£38.9 billion) and a 9% decline from £32.4 billion in the first three months of 2009. This is the lowest quarterly lending total since the first three months of 2000, but is very much in line with our forecast of a gross lending total of £150 billion this year.

CML economist Paul Samter said: “Overall