First-time buyers' loans numbered 8,900 in January, a fall of 27 per cent from the previous month and 51 per cent lower than in January 2008. In monetary terms, January's loans to first-time buyers (FTBs) totalled £962 million, 30 per cent lower than December and 59 per cent lower than January of last year. The average FTB loan-to-value (LTV) was 76 per cent (89 per cent in January 2008) meaning the average deposit paid was 24 per cent, the highest amount on record, says the CML.

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