First-time buyer market is really tough, says expert

Posted: 12 Mar 2010 09:40:41 GMT

The current first-time buyer property market is "really tough", according to one expert.

Nigel Ellis, director at estate agent Prickett & Ellis, says that the lower end of the housing sector will take a longer time to recover than the mid-to-high end of the property market.

He states that while new builders are currently trying to get rid of flats for whatever price people are prepared to pay, asking prices in the family home sector are increasing due to a lack of supply.

Mr Ellis advises that house prices for properties in the middle rung of the ladder are now ten per cent higher than they were a year ago, despite them not being worth any more.

"There are an awful lot coming on at really silly prices because there is nothing on the market. Eventually they'll sell because there is nothing else to buy," he comments.

Elsewhere, the Mouseprice Street Rankings for 2010 have revealed that for the second year in a row Chester Square in south-west London is the most expensive street in England and Wales, with the average property being worth £6,596,000.

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