House price rise of 1% could be good news for first-time buyers

07-Jan-2010

First-time buyers who manage to get on the property ladder now could enjoy a prosperous future, after it was revealed by Halifax that house prices rose by one per cent in the last month.

The increase between November and December is the sixth consecutive monthly positive move, indicating that the market low has been passed.

If a first-time buyer manages to invest in property at this time they could find their home is soon worth considerably more than they paid for it - which could aid people intending to move on again.

The rise also weakens the worrying prospect for first-time buyers of securing a home only to move immediately into negative equity.

Prices in the final three months of 2009 were 3.5 per cent up on the third quarter, according to the Halifax House Price Index for December.

However, first-time buyers should be wary of a low supply of housing, which means competition for affordable housing is high.

The shortage of low-cost housing is worst in London and Northern Ireland, a separate Halifax study earlier this week concluded.

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