According to figures posted in a report by the Bank of England for the month of September, the number of approved mortgages in UK has seen a sudden rise. The number reported in September was much more than what has been seen in the past 18 months.

The report has also confirmed that the house prices have hit a new high now, after falling to almost a fifth of their prices recorded in 2007.

If exact figures are to be believed, lender had granted a total of 56,215 home loans in September, as compared to 52,970 granted in August. In terms of value, the mortgage lending surged by a whopping 922 Million Pounds.

The figures posted are being taken as a positive sign for Britain's economy. "Life is clearly returning to the housing market and credit conditions are improving as well", said James Knightley, an economist at ING Financial Markets in London. “It will be a very tight decision for the Bank of England. The fact that gross domestic product is still negative will make it pretty difficult for them to do anything other than expand quantitative easing".

After the report was made public, the British Pound gained in value and strengthened against the Dollar. As of Thursday morning, the trading rate of Pound was reported as $1.6457.