Pressure On First Buyers As House Prices Rise

House prices edged up month-on-month in both January and February this year, bringing good news for homeowners but adding pressure on first-time buyers.

Building society Nationwide said it was cautiously optimistic that activity will pick up in the months ahead.

It comes after reports revealed more young people were living with their parents while trying to save for a deposit for a property.

According to the Halifax, the average age of a first-time buyer is 30 years old - up from 29 in 2011.

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of first time buyers receiving financial help in recent years.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimate that 65% of first time buyers of had financial assistance in mid 2012 compared with 31% in mid-2005.

Kirsty Gilmore, 26, from Bristol, has been living at home for 18 months and has saved more than £30,000. But that is still not enough to buy a property. She says the market is so competitive it is hard to get a good price.

"I want to have my own place, I want to start a family and have a home to call my own, not just my mum and dad's.

"You feel a bit excluded from society - nobody cares and you're stuck in this rut really - and everyone else my age is," she told Sky News.

Mortgage approvals for home buyers have dipped for the first time since a Government scheme to boost lending was launched last August, Bank of England figures showed.

There were 54,719 approvals in January, showing a 2% decline compared with an 11-month high recorded the previous month and marking the first time that there has been a month-on-month decrease since July.

Mortgage approvals for house purchases had been on a steady upward path since the Government's Funding for Lending scheme, which aims to help borrowers by giving lenders access to cheap finance, was launched at the start of August.

The latest figures echo recent findings from the CML, with some analysts blaming the recent bad weather.

Housing minister Mark Prisk said the Government was trying to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder.

"Many people have to rely on the bank of mum and dad - so what we are trying to do with the builders and the Government by putting equity loans forward is make those deposit affordable for first time buyers. It’s already helped 17,000 people. We hope it will help 27,000."