Hope for first-timers trying to get on the property ladder

In fact, figures from the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) released last month showed that lending to young buyers is back up to the levels seen before the crash of 2007.

According to the CML, 25,300 mortgages were advanced to first-time buyers in June, a 30 per cent increase on the 19,400 loans advanced in June last year.

"With another rise in loans to first-time buyers, this section of the market is looking stronger than for some time," says Brian Murphy from the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB).

Separate figures from the CML released last week showed that first-time buyer lending in London has rocketed to its highest level in more than five years.

The 11,200 loans to first-timers in the capital in the three months to the end of June marked a rise of 38 per cent compared with the same period in 2012. This is despite warnings of an impending housing bubble.

"Although property prices are on the rise, competition between lenders has opened up the market for first-time buyers, with growing product choice and competitive rates," says Murphy.

"The early success of the Government's Help to Buy scheme - and buyer participation in it - seem to indicate that people feel favourably towards the market."

For some time now, aspiring homeowners have been prevented from taking the first step because of high inflation and hefty deposit requirements but the recent Help to Buy scheme set out to address this - and is certainly having an impact. Recent figures suggested 10,000 aspiring homeowners have already signed up.

"Help to Buy is creating more interest among would-be buyers and convincing many they can finally afford to get on to the housing ladder because they need only a 5 per cent deposit to do so," says Mark Harris from broker SPF Private Clients.

"There's much interest in the shared equity element of the scheme and we expect the mortgage guarantee element to be even more popular when it is introduced in January."

That said, there are concerns that house prices are already heading upwards and that the rate of increase could be even greater with the launch of the mortgage guarantee offer.

"The consensus is that first-time buyers stand to benefit the most from the second part of Help to Buy," says Peter Williams from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA). 

"But if house prices continue to rise for the duration of the scheme, then in essence we will be giving with one hand and taking away with the other."

Russell Quirk, from low-cost estate agent eMoov.co.uk, also has concerns. 

"Help to Buy is great and well overdue," he says. 

"But there is a danger that a prolonged subsidy could overheat the market and ironically cause a further downturn in the long run."

As well as Government help, there has also been an increase in the availability of higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages.

"While the best rates are available to those with the biggest deposits, they are falling across the LTV curve so even those with modest deposits can access cheaper deals," says Harris. 

"Those with a 10 per cent deposit can fix for two years with Skipton Building Society at 3.99 per cent with no fee."