Data on first time buyers (FTBs) using a mortgage are available from the regulated mortgage survey which is supplied to the Department by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. As the survey is a sample, data on the number of FTBs for England are unavailable; however, we can derive proportions.
For 2006, based on figures from the regulated mortgage survey, the Department estimates that 8.3 per cent. of mortgages to first-time buyers (excluding sitting tenants) in England were for 100 per cent. or more of the purchase price of the property.