First-time buyer activity is accelerating, LSL said this morning.

The parent company to Your Move and LSL said that in February there were 22,400 first-time buyer transactions – up 41.8% on a year ago, when there were just 15,800 first-time buyer purchases. The figure was also 2.8% up on January.

According to LSL’s research, the average first-time buyer deposit in February was £25,773. This was about the same as in January, but the average first-time buyer purchase price was higher in February at £148,782.

LSL says the increase in first-time buyers is being fuelled partly by Help to Buy and partly because of widespread expectations that house prices will continue to rise.

David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: “The reason first-time buyers are taking advantage of Help to Buy in such numbers is that they expect prices to keep rising.

“That’s pushing up demand in the short term, which is supporting prices in the long term.”

In February, the average first-time buyer was 31 years old and earning an annual salary of £36,330.

However, first-time buyers in the capital have to wait longer and earn more to get on to the housing ladder. In London and the south-east, the average first-time buyer was 33 and earning £41,885 a year.

The LSL research also shows that most first-time buyers would prefer to buy an older property rather than a new-build. In London and the south-east, 49% said they would consider a new home, but the proportion fell away to 25% in the rest of the UK.