Research has highlighted the number of people trying to buy their first home declined steeply in the past 12 months, mainly due to concerns over mortgage availability.
The study by property website Rightmove.co.uk showed only about 22% of potential buyers expected to purchase their first home in the month of July, compared with 31% recorded at the same month last year.
The trend could negatively affect the property sector, as the proportion of first-time buyers was half the level required to maintain stability in the market, the group warned.
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: "With the number of prospective buyers at the bottom of the chain being half of normal levels, the question sellers further up the chain will be asking is 'who will be at the bottom of my chain?'"
More than half (55%) of first-time buyers blamed mortgage-related problems, such as raising a deposit, for the fall.
Also, just 20% of 22,010 people surveyed think house prices are set to decline, up from 13% three months ago. Meanwhile 73% believe prices would be unchanged or higher in a year's time.
Copyright Press Association 2010
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