MORTGAGE lending was subdued in August but first-time buyers continued to make the most of opportunities to get on to the property ladder.

A total of £24.2bn was advanced by all lenders during the month, in line with monthly lending figures for most of 2017, once seasonal factors were taken into account.

Mortgage approvals for house purchases totalled 41,807 in August, also broadly unchanged from the previous six months, according to UK Finance.

But first-time buyers continued to take advantage of the lack of activity by other groups, with a 17 per cent jump in the number of people buying their first home compared with two years earlier.

Going forward, UK Finance said it expected lending growth to be dampened by a potentially more challenging economic outlook.