First-time buyer mortgage approvals hit their highest level in more than ten years in 2018, revealed the latest data from UK Finance.

Yorkshire Building Society conducted an analysis of the data and found that an estimated 367,038 first-time buyers took out mortgages last year, up from 362,800 in 2017. Furthermore, the number exceeded the 2007 figure, when 359,000 first-time buyers secured mortgages, and is almost double the 193,000 taken out in the year following the financial crisis in 2008.

Commenting on the data, Yorkshire Building Society strategic economist Nitesh Patel: “Property prices have grown at a faster rate than wages over the past twelve years, which has created problems for first-time buyers.

“Various factors have helped to alleviate this challenging environment, although the market is still pretty tough for those wanting to become homeowners.”

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