The number of first-time house buyers has dropped in January due to the end of the stamp duty holiday in December.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the number of house purchase loan applications fell sharply in England and Wales during January 2010.

In the survey published today (12 March), the CML stated that mortgages dropped by 49% in January compared with December 2009.

CML attributes the steep drop in mortgages to the end of the temporary stamp duty holiday in December.

The number of remortgages also fell in January, down 24,000 from the 45,000 remortgages in the same month a year earlier.

According to the latest data, first-time buyers were the most put off by the end of the stamp duty holiday, with a 54% drop from December to January.

Commenting on the figures, CML Director General Michael Coogan said: “It was a quiet start to the year. Lending volumes in January were low, but we had predicted this would happen due to the end of the stamp duty holiday distorting December’s figures.

“When December and January data are taken together, they show little change in underlying market conditions compared with recent months, with activity still slow but well up on the lows of a year earlier.”

Mr Coogan also concluded that lending in upcoming months would likely remain weak due to the uncertainty of the economy and the fast-approaching election.