Barclays has changed its Family Springboard product to allow first-time buyers to get onto the housing ladder without a deposit, by borrowing 100% of the property’s value.

But the mortgage needs to backed by a deposit from friends or family worth 10% of the property’s value, placed into a separate savings account with the bank.

Previously, borrowers needed to provide a 5% deposit or £5,000, but the lender will no longer require anything upfront from the borrower.

The deal comes with a three-year fixed interest rate of 2.99%. After three years the deposit is returned to the helper with interest. With a 5% deposit, the mortgage rate offered falls to 2.79%.

Raheel Ahmed, head of Barclays mortgages, said: “With over a third of young people still turning to their family for help with buying a home, we have increased the accessibility of the Barclays Family Springboard Mortgage. We want to offer more people a way to get on the property ladder and to walk through the door of their first home earlier than they perhaps thought.”

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But Jody Baker, head of money at comparethemarket.com was more cautious. She said: “Loans of this sort require prudence on the part of the borrower, ensuring that they have not over-extended themselves. We would always recommend to anyone that is taking a mortgage works out a detailed budget of their monthly household expenses and assesses in some depth their incomings and outgoings. Equally, we would expect these products to remain few and far between at the fringes of the mortgage lending universe by necessity – after all, it was riskier lending which caused the financial crisis in the first place.”