Life may be getting tougher for buy-to-let landlords but first-time buyers could finally be catching a break.

Data from Your Move and Reeds Rains’ latest First-Time Buyer Tracker show that the highest number of first-time buyers since June 2014 climbed on to the ladder in March.

The total number of completed first-time buyer transactions last month rose to 32,500. This latest figure – based on the agents’ own transactions – represents the highest monthly total since June 2014, when first-time buyer volumes previously reached 33,300.

Annually, the total number of first-time buyers in March grew by 34.9% (8,400) compared with 24,100 in March 2015.

First-time buyers appear to have been helped by a cooling housing market and better lending conditions.

The average purchase price paid by first-time buyers in March stood at £166,559, 1.2% lower than February, according to the research.

Average deposits also fell 4.1% since February to £28,233, suggesting banks have been willing to lend more, with the average loan-to-value now at 83%.

On a regional basis, the average first-time buyer property hit £321,247 in London during the three months to March 2016. The south-east was the second-most expensive region, with an average first-time buyer house price of £214,574.

The north-east and Northern Ireland rank as the least expensive regions for first-time buyer properties with average prices of £113,909 and £99,298 respectively.

Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “A flurry of first-timers illustrates a property market progressing at a powerful pace as we head further into 2016.

“Much was made of March being the month of the buy-to-let landlord and the second-home owner.

“To an extent that was true – but it’s now clear none of that interest was at the expense of the bottom rungs of the ladder. Would-be first-time buyers are clamouring to own their own home, and we are seeing a sustained surge in demand for suitable homes this spring.

“A continuation of the broadly positive economic climate has likely been a factor spurring would-be first-time buyers to get off the fence and on to the ladder.

“However, what’s really getting those numbers up is the fact that the range of support options, such as Help to Buy, available to first-time buyers is at last beginning to be recognised and utilised.”