High LTV lending up 50pc

There were 9,628 loans issued to borrowers with a deposit worth 15% or less of the total property value.

One in six loans are to high LTV borrowers.

The high LTV lending market has been fuelled in part by the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, which has been extended until 2020.

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “In the run up to the Budget, there was a great deal of pressure on the Chancellor to cut Help to Buy – which has taken the rap for heating up the housing market.

“Now there’s a sense of certainty. Help to Buy is here to stay. High LTV lending will continue.”

The use of high LTV mortgages varies significantly throughout the country, as in the North East and Cumbria one in four loans were to high LTV borrowers.

Yet in London just one in 25 loans are to high LTV borrowers.

Sexton added: “The London market needs an injection of affordable homes, in order to keep the bottom of the market alive and kicking.”