Mortgage lending has surged to its highest level since 2008 as borrowers rush to take advantage of highly competitive home loan deals.

Fresh data provided by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that lenders advanced a total of £21.8 billion last month, up 19 per cent on the £18.4 billion lent a year earlier and 8 per cent on September’s total of £20.1 billion.

October’s lending total is the highest since July 2008, when lenders advanced £23.6 billion.

The CML said total mortgage lending across 2015 looks likely to top its previous estimate of £209 billion as mortgage lenders continue to compete for business by keeping borrowing rates low.

Separate figures from MoneySuperMarket revealed that the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to 2.68 per cent in October, from 2.72 per cent in September, while the typical three-year fixed rate on offer dropped from 3.1 per cent in September to 3.08 per cent in October.

Bob Pannell (left), the CML’s Chief Economist, commented, “As lending in the regulated mortgage space picked up over the summer months, the pace of recovery has improved. This looks set to continue over the closing months of the year with the factors helping support this recovery continuing to be low inflation, strong wage growth, an improving labour market and competitive mortgage deals.

“As a result lending this year is likely to exceed our forecast of £209bn, though affordability pressures will limit business volumes for first-time buyers and movers meaning that we think the market has only modest further upside potential over the short-term.”

Meanwhile, the CML has joined forces with consumer group Which? to launch a new tariff to simplify how lenders display their mortgage fees after they were asked to do so by the Chancellor George Osborne.

Which? warned last year that homeowners “could be paying over the odds” for their mortgage because of the complex range of fees and charges stopping them from finding the most suitable deal.

The new tariff has standard terminology, so lenders will in future use the same names for fees.

It will also have a common format, so that each lender will list fees in the same order, with the same descriptions.

Lenders representing 85 per cent of the market have already committed to introducing this tariff and putting it on their website by the end of the year, and the CML and Which? anticipate that other lenders will also choose to adopt it.

CML Director General Paul Smee (right) said, “Lenders have successfully pulled together to put in place some sensible measures to help consumer understanding. We very much hope that the new tariff and standard terminology will make it demonstrably easier to understand and compare mortgage costs. Working jointly with Which? has been invaluable.”

The CML and Which? have submitted a joint report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, outlining the work on the new tariff as well as progress towards making it easier for people to compare the total costs of different deals over different deal periods.

Which? Executive Director, Richard Lloyd, said, “Thousands of people supported our call to end confusion around the cost of mortgages, so we’re pleased that our work with the CML has resulted in simplified fees and charges. This new approach should make it much easier for people to compare mortgage fees. We hope that all mortgage providers will make these changes as soon as possible.”