Fewer first-time buyers are resorting to the "bank of mum and dad" in order to make the jump on to the property ladder, according to analysis from mortgage lenders.

Almost half (48%) of people taking their first step on to the property ladder last year did so without needing extra cash from relatives such as parents and grandparents, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has estimated.

This marks a significant increase compared with the 34% of first-time buyers who were thought to have got into the market in 2011 without needing added help in raising their deposit.

Figures recently released by the CML have shown that more than 300,000 home loans were handed out to first-time buyers during 2014, marking the largest number seen since 2007.

First-time buyers also continued to account for an increasing proportion of the buying market overall, representing 46% of purchases in 2014.

The CML's new findings were released as the Government said that its flagship Help to Buy housing scheme has helped more than 88,000 people buy a new home since its creation in 2013.

So far, 80% of scheme completions under the Help to Buy equity loan and mortgage guarantee schemes have been made by first-time buyers.

Help to Buy aims to help credit-worthy people who only have small deposits saved to move on to or up the property ladder.

The scheme not only sparked increased competition to offer low deposit mortgages between lenders who were taking part in Help to Buy, but also saw lenders who were not taking part in the scheme launch a new stream of low deposit mortgages on to the market.

In the latest "news and views" entry on its website, the CML said that the widened availability of low deposit mortgages has helped to make first-time buyers less reliant on cash support from their family.

But even when Help to Buy is factored in, there has still been an underlying improvement in the ability of first-time buyers to access the market without help since 2011.

The CML estimated that 38% of first-time buyers became home-owners without assistance - whether from parents or from Help to Buy schemes - in 2014, up from 34% in 2011.

But it said that with the house price increases seen last year, affordability pressures on first-time buyers are likely to become a little more stretched again.

Toughened mortgage lending rules also came into force last year which will present further difficulties for some people trying to take their first step on to the property ladder.

The CML said that the scheduled closing of the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme in 2016 will take away another form of help.

It continued: "All this suggests that, despite the real income growth expected in the short term, the prospects for growth in lending to first-time buyers may be more limited in the period ahead without significant improvements in household finances or the further extension of government support."

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: "Today's figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show how our long-term economic plan is working, by offering help to hard-working aspiring homeowners who don't always have access to the Bank of Mum and Dad.

"Since the launch of Help to Buy, over 88,000 households have been able to buy with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require - with over sixty six thousand households having bought their first home thanks to the scheme.

"On top of this, we're planning to help even more people by extending the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2020, and through our new Starter Homes initiative, which will offer newly-built homes to young first-time buyers with a 20% discount off the market price."