Expert: First-time buyers are important

It has been claimed that first-time buyers are "very important" to the success of the property market.

In the opinion of James Chatt-Collins, assistant director of sales at Metropolitan Home Ownership, these people have an important part to play in the market infrastructure.

This is because they purchase many of the cheaper houses that are available and if they do not do this, estate agents may find they are snapped up by buy-to-let investors.

Although he appreciates that "there are some questions over the long-term sustainability of that", he reiterates that "first-time buyers are very important".

Mr Chatt-Collins' comments come after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed that 13 per cent of the enquiries received by surveyors are coming from first-time buyers.

The highest level of first-time buyer activity was recorded in the north-west of the UK at 23 per cent, the RICS figures also showed.