Introduction

First time buyers are the lifeblood of the housing industry. Without new purchasers entering the marketplace a key link in the housebuying chain is broken. In recent years, as house prices have increased exponentially compared to salaries, it has become ever more difficult to get a first step on the housing ladder. However housing market conditions have changed rapidly in 2008. House prices are falling in many areas and many first time buyers have realised that they can use the current market to their own advantage, providing they have the correct finances available.

Chris Brown, president of the National Association of Estate Agents NAEA, comments: "For first time buyers who have the adequate funds in place and can secure mortgages, now is a time they can operate as opportunists and take advantage of the market and the properties and prices currently available."

First Time Buyers Have Been Sacrificed

David Pretty CBE, New Homes Marketing Board (NHMB) Chairman and former Chief Executive of Barratt Developments, who has long championed the cause of first time buyers. He said: "Sadly, a generation of first time buyers has already been sacrificed and it will happen to another generation unless we take decisive action."

National Survey

The scale of the problem has been highlighted in a recent national survey undertaken by YouGov on behalf of the NHMB. Almost 90 per cent of the population, as sampled by YouGov, thinks property prices are a major problem for first time buyers in their areas - and that the problem is worsening everywhere and has grown to the extent that it is a significant social problem which threatens the well-being of local communities nationwide.

In the light of the survey, Mr Pretty is again calling on Government, local authorities and housebuilders to work together to introduce a package of extra help for first-timers. Mr Pretty's current statement backs up his November 2005 position, when he presented the Government with an 18-point programme of proposed reforms to increase housing supply.

However help and assistance is available to first time buyers in a number of ways. For further information visit help for first time buyers.

"We must not allow first-time buyers to be forgotten, not just because of the social consequences in the future, but also because they are absolutely crucial for the general health of the housing market and our future economic prosperity. The biggest single cause of the housing shortage is the incredibly slow and bureaucratic planning system, which now takes at least four times longer to process straightforward planning applications than 25 years ago."

David Pretty CBE, Chairman of New Homes Marketing Board (NHMB)