The proportion of people buying a home with a large deposit fell in May, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from residential chartered surveyors e.surv.

Large deposit buyers – defined as those with a deposit of 60% or more – took out 33.9% of all home loans this month. This is down on the 34.6% recorded in April and is the lowest ratio seen so far in 2017, well below the 35.4% recorded in January.

Borrowers with small deposits saw their share of the market sip slightly from 21.5% to 21.3% month-on-month, with mid-market borrowers benefiting from other shrinking parts of the market.

The overall size of the mortgage market grew month-on-month but remained smaller than it was in May 2016. There were 64,645 loans (seasonally adjusted) approved this month, 1.1% higher than in April 2017 but 3.2% down on the same month a year ago,

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “May was a month for the mid-market borrowers as large and small deposit buyers saw their share of the market fall.

“But this can also be viewed as a positive for young buyers. As mid-market borrowers move up the ladder and into bigger properties, this frees up stock for buyers looking to get onto the ladder for the first time.”