PROPERTY experts believe confidence is returning to the housing market after the biggest rise in the number of first-time buyers for more than 10 years.

Fresh signs that the once-sluggish market is on the move came after one survey revealed the number of people getting their feet on the homes ladder grew by around 22% last year.

First-time buyer numbers have now grown for two years in a row in the UK, after four years of decline in the wake of the credit crunch and consequent end to the housing boom.

The annual Halifax First Time Buyer Review revealed there were 265,000 new entrants in 2013 to the housing market, up from 218,000 in 2012 - the highest annual total since 2007.

Around 45% of all house purchases made with a mortgage were made by first-time buyers, up from 40% in 2012.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, added: "The number of first-time buyers is estimated to have grown by a fifth in 2013, the largest annual increase in more than a decade."

The upsurge in activity at the bottom of the property ladder is being fuelled by the continuing record low interest rates which in turn encourage competitive mortgage deals.

The market is also being driven by banks re-opening their purse strings to borrowers, the government-backed Help to Buy schemes and an increased availability of homes as owners who sat out the worst of the economic downturn sell up and move on.

The review said mortgage affordability has improved significantly in recent years, with the proportion of disposable earnings devoted to mortgage payments by a first-time down by almost 20%.

This is a substantial improvement since summer 2007 when half of new buyers' wages were spent on mortgages.

There has also been an increase in the proportion of areas that are affordable for first-time buyers since 2007, with the average house price paid by a first-time buyer in 70% of Scotland's local authority areas deemed affordable for someone on average earnings by November last year.

This compares to the peak of the market in 2007 when just 33% of council areas were deemed affordable. The average price paid by a first-time buyer in Scotland was £114,781, 10% lower than it was in 2007.

Bill Cullen, chairman of Clyde Property, said that enquiries from first-time buyers were up by about 20% last year compared to 2012. He said: "Confidence is starting to pick up again and that's been noticed across out branches.

"People are chasing fixed-rate mortgages and taking advantage of the low interest rate at the moment. This is also the first time in a few years where it is becoming cheaper to buy than to rent, and people are taking advantage of that. People are also wanting to move into towns because the cost of driving is becoming so expensive.

"Some people are paying £700 a month in transport costs and why do that when you could use the money to get a decent mortgage?"