First-time buyers 'driving' market

Press Association
Updated
File photo dated 25/06/13 of houses in Brighton as surveyors saw house sales lift to the strongest levels in nearly six years in the run-up to Christmas as the market began to
File photo dated 25/06/13 of houses in Brighton as surveyors saw house sales lift to the strongest levels in nearly six years in the run-up to Christmas as the market began to

%VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%Banks and building societies have reported that first-time buyers are "driving" the housing market as the number of people taking their first step on the property ladder continued to run at a six-year high in December.

The total number of loans handed out to this sector last year rose to 268,800, marking a 23% increase on 2012 and the highest number since 359,900 first-time buyer loans were advanced in 2007, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders' (CML) figures.

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