The number and value of first-time buyer mortgages fell 30% from December but rose by 23% from January 2011.
Home mover numbers fell from 28,900 worth £4.7bn in December to 22,400 worth £3.6bn in January.
Like first-time buyers, there was a significant increase in numbers from the previous January, when 18,600 home movers took out loans worth £3.1bn.
However both house purchase and remortgage lending fell in January with 35,600 loans worth £5.3bn taken out for house purchase.
This is a rise of 22% by volume and 23% by value from a year ago but a fall of 25% by volume and 24% by value on December 2011.
The CML said this reflects the normal seasonal pattern where cold weather, lack of daylight and post-Christmas cash flow problems in January are likely to deter buyers from moving house.
January saw a drop in both the number and value of loans taken out for remortgage.
Some 26,600 loans worth £3.6bn were taken out, down from 28,200 worth £3.5bn in December.
Remortgage lending experienced its first year-on-year fall since the end of 2010, with the number of loans down 13% and the value down 5% from January 2011.
For the past year, first-time buyers have borrowed on average 80% of their property and that was unchanged for January. The typical home mover borrowed 70% for the fourth month running.
First-time buyers continue to pay less of their income on mortgage interest, 12.2%, down from 12.3% in December.
But in addition to interest payments, deposit and capital repayments form a large part of the payment burden for potential first-time buyers.
Director general of the CML Paul Smee said: "We traditionally see a substantial fall in lending figures at the start of the year, reflecting the lack of enthusiasm by buyers to move house during the post-Christmas months, and this January has been no exception.
“But the year-on-year rise in house purchase lending suggests that lending levels are generally rising although we expect the trajectory to be bumpy rather than smooth this year.
"Average deposits for first-time buyers have stayed steady at around 20% for over a year but that figure may start to drift down gently over the coming months especially as NewBuy has been launched for new homes."
Adrian Knott, director of independent mortgage broker Adrian Knott Partnership, said the uptick in first-time buyer numbers was likely due to the impending end of the stamp duty holiday.
And he added: "The wider mortgage and property markets continue to hurt but some of the pain is perfectly avoidable.
"One factor that is genuinely damaging the property market is the rapid demise of the interest-only loan.
"For a lot of people, both investors and owner-occupiers, interest-only loans are the correct option, but ever-reducing LTVs mean the sums no longer add up.”
Knott said demand for interest-only remained strong but the products weren’t there to meet it.
"Transactions that should take place don't take place and it all adds up,” he said.
"Lenders are increasingly heading for the hills when it comes to interest-only. Interest-only today is vastly different to interest-only twenty years ago, but is wrongly being associated with irresponsible debt.
"For many people, who have assets to repay debt, a high disposable income, or a history of large bonuses, interest-only mortgages can be the right product. And these people fully understand the risks.
"By taking the axe to interest-only loans, lenders are cutting off their noses to spite their face."
