The number of first-time buyers choosing to use an intermediary to secure a mortgage rose to 82.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2008, new figures show.
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number of first-time buyers using an intermediary soared by ten per cent compared with the first quarter of 2007, as banks continue to restrict their lending criteria.
The government has announced a range of new measures to assist first-time buyers earning less than £60,000 a year, including a series of shared ownership and shared equity schemes.
Intermediaries are now responsible for 79 per cent of all remortgages, a further ten per cent increase compared with the same quarter of 2007, the CML lending via intermediaries statistics reveal.
Richard Farr, director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said: "Mortgage intermediaries are playing a vital role in the current market place as first time buyers struggle to find a mortgage deal. The CML figures demonstrate the demand for advice from consumers, and the ability of intermediaries to find a good deal even during difficult times."
Mortgage broker John Charcol has revealed that first-time buyers accounted for just four per cent of its customers last month, less than half the average of ten per cent in 2007 and a significant fall from seven per cent in March this year.