First-time buyer numbers climbed a healthy 8% in April, despite the market slowdown triggered by the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review.
Numbers have now risen 47% in the past 12 months, boosted by the Help to Buy scheme, which has encouraged more high-LTV lending.
This has helped cut the average first-time buyer deposit by more than £2,000 in the last year, a drop of 7.5%, according to the latest first-time buyer barometer from Your Move and Reeds Rains, part of LSL Property Services.
The average first-time buyer deposit was £24,618, down from £26,623 in April 2013.
There were 26,300 first-time buyer transactions in April, against 24,400 in March.
One in 10 first time buyers say the financial assistance from government schemes such as Help to Buy enabled them to get their foot on the property ladder.
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: "The tightening of mortgage criteria hasn't dampened the appetite for first-time-buyer property.
"Many more new buyers are making the jump onto the property ladder, while deposit requirements and mortgage rates remain relatively low.
"With real wage growth around the corner, and expectation that prices will continue to rise, getting on the property ladder is not only becoming more realistic, but more of a priority.
"The prospect of the end of Help to Buy may add further fuel to the momentum in the market."
First-time buyer purchase prices rose 10% over the year to April 2014, reaching an average of £149,655.
The average first-time buyer mortgage was £125,037.
First-time buyers in London are feeling the brunt of the impact of the Mortgage Market Review and the tighter lending criteria.
Nearly one-third said they found it more difficult to get a mortgage in London since the MMR regulations came into force.
But across the rest of the UK, only one in five found that the new procedures have impacted their application process.
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