Year (second quarter figures only) Number of first-time buyer loans advanced in the period Average size of mortgage Income ratio Lenders have eased" their criteria, he pointed out, and added: "The wild lending of the boom years still haunts them, but the mortgage market is finally functioning as it should. Separate data showed an increase in the number of properties likely to fall into the 3pc stamp duty threshold. Based on quarterly data from the Land Registry, available only to subscribers, London property specialist London Central Portfolio calculated that the average price of a flat has just passed the £250,000 mark to reach £250,101. Flats make up 18pc of property sales across England and Wales and are skewed to London and the south and other large conurbations. The £250,000 boundary is significant as at that point stamp duty rises from 1pc to 3pc, applied to the whole property price. In other words tax payable jumps from £2,500 to £7,500. Watch: Telegraph series on how to buy and sell a house