20pc leap in first-time buyers Ian Cowie: First-timers are back - and the market may be turning First-time buyers accounted for 45 per cent of new mortgages in March, up from 43 per cent in February. However, the average size of deposit being put down remained stable at 20 per cent, despite a gradual increase in the proportion of first-time buyers taking out loans with a deposit of 10 per cent or less. One in four first-time buyers put down a deposit of 10 per cent or less - up from one in five a year ago. Paul Smee, CML director general, said: "First-time buyer activity in the first quarter was nearly at the same level as last year - when figures were buoyed by the end of the stamp duty holiday. This suggests that the market continues to be favourable for those looking to buy their first home. More borrowers are taking out higher loan-to-value [low deposit] mortgages than at any other time in the last four years - a sign that lenders are open for business and that borrowers, even those without a large deposit, are increasingly able to get a foot on the property ladder. Mortgage rates have been falling since last summer, largely thanks to the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) introduced last August. FLS is designed to loosen borrowing for households by giving lenders access to cheap finance. The Government went much further in the Budget in March by promising a two-pronged Help to Buy scheme. The first part launched on April 1 with the aim of providing loans for those struggling to find a deposit. The Government will lend 20 per cent of a newbuild property price, interest-free for five years, for those who have only a 5 per cent deposit. The second strand of the scheme is expected to launch next January. It will involve mortgage guarantees, extending beyond newbuild properties - but details have not yet been announced. It was also suggested today that demand for property has reached a three-year high with surveyors suggesting the Government's schemes had pepped up interest. Inquiries from new buyers were at their highest level since November 2009 and prices were also starting to rise, according to a monthly report by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which is regarded by economists as a leading indicator of market trends. RICS said 25 per cent more surveyors reported that demand for property rose rather than fell, suggesting prices may now be on the rise. It is the seventh positive result in the last eight months, following a positive 13 per cent reading for March. First-time buyer stories - Read how Joanne Taylor got on the property ladder