First-time buyer numbers have lifted to their highest levels in five and a half years as the housing market shows a "marked" improvement, lenders have reported.

Some 25,100 loans worth £3.4 billion were advanced to people taking their first step on the property ladder during May, representing the highest volume seen since November 2007, Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures showed.

Banks and building societies are giving more low-deposit loans the green light. First-time buyers typically put down a 17% deposit in May, edging down from an average 19% deposit needed the previous month and the lowest figure since November 2008.

Mortgage lending to this sector is 42% higher than it was a year ago and shows a sharp contrast to a low point of 8,500 loans in January 2009, the CML said.

But the typical age of a first-time buyer has held steady for months at 29.

The figures follow a recent Bank of England survey of lenders which found that their "risk appetite" is returning and they are planning to make mortgages more readily available in the coming months.

But the CML pointed out that mortgage lending is still low by historic standards.

Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said: "Although monthly lending is still running at far less than half its typical monthly level during the peak, there is no doubt that the mortgage market is firmly open for business.

"Both the borrowing appetite of first-time buyers and the availability of attractive mortgages for them have improved markedly since a year ago."

The CML's figures showed that lending to home movers in May was up by a third compared with April with £5.1 billion worth of loans advanced, although on a year-on-year basis the increase was a more modest 4%.

The CML said that there has been less change in home movers, with average deposit sizes for this sector holding steady at 29%.