The number of first-time buyer house completions in the UK increased by 11% to 25,800 during September 2014 compared to last year when there was 23,200 according to the latest First Time Buyer Tracker from Your Move and Reeds Rains.

New buyers are also paying more for their first home with the average first-time buyer purchase price rising 3% over the same period to £150,950, the fourth consecutive month in which average purchase prices have topped £150,000.

David Newnes, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “Help to Buy has helped keep the blood pumping in the first-time buyer market over the last year, allowing borrowers struggling to save for a deposit the financial life support they need to purchase property.

“At the same time, MMR regulations have performed a health check on their finances, ensuring they will be able to withstand a future base rate rise. Lenders have increased the range of higher LTV options available to borrowers, allowing the average first-time buyer deposit to fall even as purchase prices increase.

“But the sands are shifting in the first-time buyer market. Loan-to-income caps announced in June have added further restrictions for lenders to factor in, on top of the tranche of regulations implemented in April. The effect is that lending is tied to wages much more tightly than in the past. Borrowers increasingly have to prove their financial resilience to access the higher LTV deals available. There is more lending, but at the same time it is more responsible and sustainable.”

Despite the purchase price rising, the average first-time buyer deposit decreased by 8% year-on-year from £28,498 to £26,134 in September 2014, as Help to Buy made higher LTV lending more accessible for borrowers.

At the same time, deposits fell even faster as a proportion of annual income with the average first-time buyer deposit representing 67.6% of annual income in September, 12% lower than in September 2013.