(Bloomberg) -- U.K. mortgage lending reached a nine-month high in March, a possible sign that stability is returning to the housing market.

The number of home-loan approvals climbed to 39,980, almost 6 percent higher than a year earlier and the most since June 2018, lobby group UK Finance said on Friday.

The surprise pickup may reflect seasonal demand as the housing market enters the traditional spring buying season. Demand has been hit by Brexit uncertainty, particularly in London, and mortgage approvals remain well below the levels posted two years ago.

Demand for unsecured credit stayed modest last month, with net lending on credit cards of just over 200 million pounds ($258 million), UK Finance said.

The report covers seven High Street banks representing around 60 percent of total mortgage lending, data on which are due to be published by the Bank of England on May 1.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Atkinson in London at a.atkinson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Lucy Meakin

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.