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The figures, released in the Bank of England's Trends in Lending: November 2009 report, show that the number of loans for house purchase by first-time buyers has increased from 29,800 in the first quarter of the year to 44,200 in the last three months.

However, the report also sounded a note of caution, saying the volume of housing transactions is still historically low.

The report stated: "The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' new buyer enquiries balance continued to rise in October pointing to a further increase in demand for mortgages for house purchase. However, the volume of housing transactions remained low by historical standards.

"The rise in gross lending for house purchase has reflected an increase in lending to first-time buyers as well as to home movers, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders."

The Rics September 2009 Housing Market Survey showed a similar picture, with a net balance of more than a quarter of respondents indicating the number of new enquiries from first-time buyers had increased over the three months to August.

Brian Murphy, head of lending at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said the latest figures were encouraging and a offered a reflection of increasingly favourable market conditions.

He said: "Significantly, we are also now seeing a degree of price competition at the 70 to 75 per cent loan-to-value level, which is certainly helping to fuel the pick-up in the first-time buyer market."

Andrew Montlake, director of London-based independent mortgage adviser Coreco, said the increase in first-time buyers coming onto the market reflected a desire to buy before prices began to increase again.

He said: "The estate agents we deal with are reporting there has not been the usual dip in demand at this time of the year, which is doubtless a reflection of this."

Mr Montlake said there had been a dramatic rise in the number of remortgaging enquiries as people became aware of how interest rate could turn against them.

According to recent figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, gross mortgage lending increased by 5 per cent between October and September.

Paul Samter, economist for the CML, said: "House purchase activity has picked up significantly. In contrast, remortgaging has dropped to decade-low levels as many borrowers have little incentive to refinance when they move onto low reversion rates, and others find themselves unable to do so due to equity constraints."