First time buyers are keeping the coals stoked within the UK housing market.  The group accounted for almost 16,000 mortgages during the month of January this year.  That figure is almost half of all mortgages advanced during the first month of the year.  So far, it has been the strongest start to a year since 2008, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.  First timers had been struggling to come up with the increased amount of deposit which has been increasing for a few months in a row recently.

The Funding for Lending scheme is making it possible for first timers to get their foot on the first rung of the property ladder, according to director of independent mortgage broker Monesprite’s Ashley Brown.

Brown commented on the scheme which has been quite effective in helping first timers, saying: "Despite early doubts about the effectiveness of the Funding for Lending Scheme, it's now the main reason why lenders are offering more competitively priced products, and most crucially at the first time buyer end of the market.”

He continued: "Without the first time buyer, the market cannot improve.  It's vital that funds from the Funding for Lending Scheme don't dry up. If they do, lenders will once again head for the safe haven of higher deposit borrowers and we'll be back to square one."

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, commented on the number of first timers taking advantage of the scheme, saying: "They are still putting down a 20pc deposit, on average, and with the FLS making more deals available at 90pc loan-to-value, this should further increase the number of first-time buyers able to get on the housing ladder in coming months.”