Gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £11.3 billion last month, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
This represented a 12% increase from the £10.1 billion lent in April and was 1% higher 12 months ago.
Despite a modest pick-up in overall lending activity during May, lending for house purchase is running below year earlier levels, the CML added.
The trade body also predicts that interest in remortgaging is now also likely to be less pronounced, as expectations of higher interest rates this year recede.
The CML’s director general Michael Coogan said: “Gross mortgage lending in May recovered after low activity levels in April. Distorting effects from Easter and bank holidays cloud the current picture