Gross mortgage lending was an estimated £11.3 billion in March, a 21% rise from £9.3 billion in February and a 2% decline from £11.5 billion in March 2010, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Gross lending for the first quarter of 2011 was therefore an estimated £30.1 billion, an 11% decline from the fourth quarter of 2010 (£33.9 billion) and a 1% increase from £29.7 billion in the first three months of 2010.

Bob Pannell, the CML’s chief economist, said: “The housing market has emerged hesitantly from hibernation. Household finances are under a lot of pressure