The number of first-time buyers has returned to where it was a decade ago, but those now putting their first step on the property ladder are paying double the amount in deposits, Halifax says.

The lender estimates there were 359,000 first-time buyers in 2017, up from 339,600 in 2016, which Halifax describes as a ten-year high, but is just below the 359,900 recorded in 2007.

First-time buyers are also spending double the deposit than ten years ago, at £33,339 compared with £17,740, while the average price for a property is £278,749, compared with £78,855 a decade ago.

New buyers are also two years older than a decade ago on average at 31, or 33 in London.

Over the past decade, the number of first-time buyers in London has fallen by 26% from 57,900 in 2007 to an estimated 42,983 in 2017.

The north is the only other region aside from the capital to see a drop in numbers from 17,300 to 16,430 (5%) during the same period.

Northern Ireland has seen the biggest increase in first-time buyers over the same period, up 65% to 9,410, while the south-east has the biggest concentration at 69,000.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “A flow of new buyers into home ownership is vital for the overall wellbeing of the UK housing market. This ten-year high in the number of first-time buyers shows continued healthy movement in this key area despite a shortage of homes and the ongoing challenge of saving enough of a deposit.

“Low mortgage rates, high levels of employment and Government schemes such as Help to Buy have helped first-time buyers become a much greater segment of the market, and the recent abolition of Stamp Duty on purchases of up to £300,000 is likely to continue stimulating this growth by reducing the upfront costs associated with taking the first step on to the property ladder.”

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