The chartered surveyors found 28% of all mortgages approved in the Yorkshire region were at a high loan-to-value ratio. These mortgages are typically targeted towards first-time buyers and include Help to Buy and other government schemes.

The North West saw a almost a quarter (24%) of its mortgages financed at a low LTV with the Midlands (20%) rounding off the top three.

London saw the smallest percentage of mortgages approved at high LTVs with just 7% of the capital’s mortgage approvals going to borrowers with small deposits.

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said the success of Help to Buy in northern regions was clear.

“Help to Buy is reaching the areas that need it most,” he said. “Without Help to Buy stepping in to lift first-time buyers into the range of higher LTV loans, we can see that the north could be suffering from a real crisis.

“With a quarter of house purchase approvals depending on higher LTV lending in the North West – and even more than that in Yorkshire – the scheme is providing a lifeline for buyers otherwise priced out of the lower end of the mortgage market.”