This has taken the average deposit size to an eye-watering £28,012 - outstripping property price increases of 12.4 per cent over the same period.
The average age of first-time buyers registering an interest on Leadbay's system has also increased to 31 years old, with the number of first-time buyers it is seeing falling back by 24 per cent as affordability constraints and an inability to find such huge deposits force many to put their purchase on hold.
The plus side of such a big increase in the average deposit necessary to secure a home means that first-time buyers are now looking at LTVs of around 83 per cent, making it easier to place the mortgage.
Toby Hughes, Leadbay’s innovation development manager said brokers should take advantage of the additional income streams opened up by first-time buyers.
He advised: “First-time buyers offer great return on marketing investment for the mortgage adviser due to the fact that they have a wide range of opportunities for cross selling other products such as life assurance and have great potential lifetime value.”
