Wow. Government figures released this week show that house price inflation has pushed into double figures as prices were 10.1% higher in April than a year ago. This marks the highest figure since October 2007 when the crisis was just starting to bite. 

The latest figures show that UK house prices rose by another 0.4% in April with the cost of the average
UK house now standing at £207,516. The price rise was also consistent across the UK with only
Northern Ireland missing out on a yearly price rise in the year to April. 

The price rising is great news for sellers in the market but other figures show a more difficult position for buyers. 

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has released figures that show mortgage lending this year has been subdued with the number of loans granted to home buyers falling by 9% in April. 

This still represents growth in comparison with a year ago and will have been slightly effected by the Easter holidays. Analysts see the figure as a modest success but a success nonetheless. The repeated concern is that the low mortgage figures show the problems first time buyers are having, especially if they do not have a large deposit. This is effecting the poorest of society the most since richer families usually provide their children with a deposit to help them get their feet on the property ladder. 

The percentage of mortgages made to first-time buyers was a mere 35% of the total, which is the lowest figure since September 2007. This suggests that the recovery from the economic crisis has yet to have any effect on the prospects of first time buyers. 

The average deposit required of first time buyers is 25% of the value of the house, presenting a serious hurdle to receiving a mortgage.

New figures from mortgage analysts have revealed that the number of different mortgage deals available has risen above 3,000 for the first time in 15 months. There are now 3,100 different packages available which represents a 42% increase from the lowest point in July 2009.

This is no doubt good news, but a more illustrative comparison shows that while there are now 3,100 mortgage deals available, in June 2007 that number stood at 28,413. 92% of mortgage deals available at the height of the market have been discontinued.

Of course, many of those products will have been of the reckless and frankly dangerous type that resulted in the crash in the first place and the market as a whole is better off without them, but 92% is still a huge figure and shows the continuing nascent state of the recovery.

It is also interesting to note that the most significant growth in product availability has been in five-year fixed-rate deals, with the choice of these increasing ten times in the past year.

There has also been a very recent trend seen over the past couple of months of relaxation in the number of products for borrowers with small deposits, with a number of lenders reintroducing products offering 85% or even 90% mortgages. This upward trend is expected to continue.

That lenders are seeing potential in returning to the UK mortgage market is good news for borrowers, especially those first time buyers who have had a torrid time for the past three years.

There are all sorts of figures emerging at the moment which taken in isolation can appear to show vastly different views on what is happening in the UK mortgage market. However, when taken together a picture emerges of a market weakened by the ravages of the past years and suffering from a form of shell shock. More assertive growth will come, but slowly, gradually and with a slight sense of trepidation for months if not years to come.