'Never been a better time' for first-time buyers to purchase

09-Jul-2008

First-time buyers currently have "a lot of influence" on the housing market and are in a good position to make a purchase, it has been claimed.

Chris Brown, the president of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), said the current record number of properties on the market means sellers can no longer hold out for higher offers - because "there may not be another buyer around the corner".

"There has probably never been a better time to buy for a very long time," he remarked.

"[First-time buyers] are going to be taken a lot more seriously because there isn't another buyer as there was say a year or two years ago," Mr Brown continued.

"People's expectations are now coming into line with reality... I certainly think they [buyers] have got a lot of pulling power and a lot of influence on the market."

The NAEA's comments follow the release of the latest Rightmove House Price Index, which indicates there are currently one million properties on the market, with the ratio of properties to buyers doubling year-on-year as the so-called 'mortgage famine' hits home.

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