Sit Out the Downturn, Firm Advises

First-time buyers who are looking to get on the property ladder should wait before they buy, an industry source claimed today.

Property experts Firstrung said that the current housing downturn - which has seen falling house prices and an increasingly contracting mortgage market - makes it advisable for the buyers to continue saving for a deposit rather than splashing out.

The comments follow research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which shows that mortgage firms made risk-averse by the credit crunch are demanding higher and higher initial lump sums. The latest figures show that the average first-time buyer put in a deposit of 13 per cent for their home loan in April: the highest level for three years.

CML also pointed out that the average mortgage for this group was worth 3.3 times their income, below the 3.35 registered in March - which also shows the increasingly restrictive conditions first-time buyers are currently facing.

Paul Holmes, operations director of Firstrung, said: "The best advice for first time buyers is while you are priced out and there is no mortgage product available for you – save up your deposit and be very careful that you don't waste that deposit on peripherals.

"Just simply put it away and be confident that as prices are falling there will be a time when you can put that deposit to incredibly good use."