By Charlotte Beugge

Mortgage lending for house purchase rose to 47,000, worth £6.9 billion in the year to November, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

In numbers, this was 4% up on October's figure and was a 5% rise in value. This was only the second time in 2011 that the figures showed a rise.

Remortgaging also rose to 31,200 mortgages worth £4 billion - a 6% increase from 29,500 (worth £3.7 billion - a rise of 8%) in October and 30,700 (worth £3.8 billion) in November 2010.

Mortgages for first-time buyers totalled 17,300 loans in November, worth £2.1 billion, up 4% by volume and 5% by value compared to both October 2011 and November 2010.

First-time buyers accounted for 37% of mortgages for house purchases, the same as in October. Those few first-time buyers who managed to get the finance together for a mortgage are paying a smaller proportion of their income towards servicing their loan.

In November, a typical first-time buyer needed to put aside 12.2% of their income towards their mortgage compared with to 12.3% in October and 13% the previous November.

Mortgage interest payments for home movers accounted for 9.2% of income, unchanged on the previous month but remained the lowest figure for nine years.

Two-thirds of borrowers took out fixed-rate mortgages in November, up from 62% in October. Nearly all (98%) of first-time buyers took out repayment mortgages, with 83% of movers and 79% of remortgagers opting for loans on the repayment basis.