"First-time buyers are benefiting from historically low mortgage rates and this is helping more people onto the property ladder for the first time."
This is higher than December – when these borrowers held 16.1% of the total market – and even further ahead of January 2016's total of 14.5%.
Yorkshire was the region with the highest proportion of small deposit buyers in January, replacing the North West at the top of the chart. Small deposit buyers made up 31.6% of the total market in Yorkshire in January, compared to just 24% in December.
At the other end of the scale, just 17.2% of loans in Scotland went to buyers with deposits of 15% or less.
Yorkshire and the North West were the only two areas of the UK which saw more loans going to small deposit borrowers than large ones.
Those with larger deposits continue to dominate the UK mortgage market, representing 35.4% of all mortgage approvals in January.
There were five regions where large deposit buyers took more than a third of the total market in January 2017. Scotland was the most dominated by these borrowers (38.4%) followed by Eastern England (37.0%) and South and South Wales (36.8%).
London – with 36.7% of all loans - and the South East (35.3%) were the other areas with more than a third of buyers having a 60% deposit or bigger.
Richard Sexton, Director of e.surv chartered surveyors, commented: “Typically, the new year heralds a fresh start for those considering taking out a mortgage, and small deposit buyers are now taking more share of the market than both last month and the same point a year ago.
“First-time buyers are benefiting from historically low mortgage rates and this is helping more people onto the property ladder for the first time. Government schemes such as the Help to Buy ISA are also providing support for those still saving for their deposit.
“Areas in London and the South East that have seen dramatic price rises in recent years, are starting to see this price growth slow. This is also helping more people in those regions to achieve their housing aspirations.
“The government is making all the right noises in terms of increasing housing supply, but words need to turn into action if the housing market is to work for all. A boost to the number of first-time buyer homes will contribute to getting the whole market moving."
