The number of first time buyers is up 38% from this time last year, new figures show, as more and more first time buyers are having their mortgage applications accepted.

This shows that the housing market is really starting to pick up, and is showing “appreciable upward momentum”, as Howard Archer, Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), described it.

One of the causes for this is likely the Help to Buy scheme put in place by the government, sweetening the deal for mortgage lenders to convince them to invest in 95% Loan to Value (LTV) mortgages.

Furthermore, the overall value of loans given, £3.1bn, is up 55% over the last 12 months.

And there is good news for the borrowers, as the average LTV has crept up from 80% to 82%, showing that lower deposits are becoming more common, although it is still not as good as 2006 and 2007, which saw a recorded average LTV of 90%.

Some experts, however, fear this could be the start of a new housing bubble. The CML said that their data is causing “concern that we are on the road to a new housing bubble. While mortgage activity is still not that strong compared to long-term norms, there is currently appreciable upward momentum.”