The latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders in Northern Ireland shows that a total of 5,100 first time buyers entered the market in 2012, up from 4,700 in 2011, an increase of 9%.
On a quarterly basis, lending to home movers fell in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter while remortgage lending picked up slightly.
A total of 1,400 loans were advanced to first time buyers in the fourth quarter in Northern Ireland, an increase of 8% on the third quarter and the same as the last quarter of 2011.
First time buyers in Northern Ireland typically borrowed 80% of their property's value, slightly lower than in the third quarter when first time buyers typically borrowed 82% of their property's value, and on par with the rest of the UK.
The CML said that other measures of first time buyer affordability remain favourable compared to the UK as a whole. First time buyers in Northern Ireland borrowed an average of 2.89 times their income, compared to 3.26 in the UK. While mortgage payments typically consumed 19.1% of their income, remaining lower than 20.1% in the UK.
The vast majority, some 79% of first time buyers in Northern Ireland continued to buy properties valued at less than £125,000, compared to less than 40% in the UK.
While there was an increase in the number of first time buyers in 2012, a fall in the average amount borrowed led to a fall in the value of lending to first time buyers in the year, £380 million down from £410 million in 2011.