The number of people taking their first step on to the housing ladder set another six-year high in august, mortgage lenders have reported. Some 27,100 loans worth £3.8 billion were handed out to first-time buyers in august, marking a 7 per cent increase on the month of July, when the number of first-time buyers was already running at its highest levels since 2007, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders' figures. Lending to first-time buyers in august was one third higher than in the same month a year ago. The CML figures showed that first-time buyers stretched their borrowing in relation to their income in august, borrowing 3.36 times their salary typically, which was a jump from 3.31 in July.