The number of first-time buyers jumped 23 per cent in January but the housing market is in for a "bumpy" ride this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has warned.
Some 13,200 mortgage loans were taken out by first-time buyers in January, worth £1.6 billion, a 23 per cent increase both in the number of loans and their value, CML figures showed.
The number of home movers also increased year-on-year, with 22,400 loans made to this sector of the market in January, worth £3.6 billion, a 20 per cent increase in volume and a 16 per cent increase in value.
The first-time buyer proportion of the market slumped back to a three-year low last autumn but estate agents and lenders have reported a recent surge in activity as the current two-year stamp duty concession for this sector of the market, which raises the threshold for first-time buyers from £125,000 to £250,000, is due to end on March 24.
Overall, there were 35,600 loans for house purchase in January worth £5.3 billion, a rise in 22 per cent by volume and 23 per cent by value on a year ago.
However, the month still recorded its traditional seasonal "dip" - with 25 per cent fewer mortgages taken out for house purchase than during December 2011 overall. The number of remortgage loans dropped by 6 per cent month-on-month to 26,600.
Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: "The year-on-year rise in house purchase lending suggests that lending levels are generally rising although we expect the trajectory to be bumpy rather than smooth this year."
Low interest rates have enabled lenders to offer borrowers some of their cheapest ever deals, but there are strong signs of mortgages becoming more expensive, with a recent spate of banks announcing mortgage rises, blaming the increased cost of funding a mortgage and the weak economy.
The typical UK house price was £206,523 in January, the CLG figures showed, a monthly drop of 0.7 per cent, the first fall since September last year, but a small rise of 0.2 per cent year-on-year.
