First-time buyers are paying 3.21 times their income in order to get a mortgage, the highest figure on record, new data shows.

The figure, from June of this year, is an increase from an average 3.20 times their income in May and 3.06 times their income in June 2005.

However, despite high mortgages stretching first-time buyers it is not putting them off, with the number of first-time buyers taking out new mortgages rising 14 per cent from 34,800 in May to 39,500 in June, the report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed.

"It is interesting to see that even though average first-time buyer income multiples are the highest on record, first-time buyers are still finding ways of getting on to the property ladder," said CML director general Michael Coogan.

"It is highly likely that more and more young buyers are turning to parents and grandparents to help them raise the deposit for their first home."

The report also showed a large increase (24 per cent) in the number of people taking out tracker loans, while the number of people taking out fixed rate loans fell by two per cent, although they still account for 68 per cent of all new loans.

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