The recent housing market revival has brought with it the return of a species that had become frighteningly scarce – the first-time buyer.

The resurgence of this sector is highlighted in new research by Halifax, which found not only are first-time buyer numbers increasing, they are increasing at their fastest rate in more than a decade.

Using figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) as well as its own, Halifax’s report estimates there were 265,000 first-time buyers in the UK in 2013. This figure represents a jump of more than one-fifth (22%) on 2012, and the strongest annual rise seen since 2001.

The report also revealed first-time buyers accounted for 44% of house purchases made using a mortgage last year, up from 40% in 2012.

This increase is significant – and not simply for those frustrated people whose dreams of buying their first home have been repeatedly quashed in recent years.

First-time buyers are a vital piece of the whole housing market jigsaw. Without them, housing market chains grind to a halt.

People who want to take their second step up the housing ladder, perhaps because they’ve started a family and grown out of their existing property, become stuck from the lack of people willing or able to buy their “starter” home from them.

Halifax’s figures also show how ultra-low interest rates have helped to improve mortgage affordability for first-time buyers in recent years.

The proportion of a first-time buyer’s disposable earnings spent on mortgage payments stood at 30% in the last three months of 2013, compared with a peak of 50% in the summer of 2007.