Only 23% of all those intending to buy in the next 12 months will be buying for the first time, down from 26% a year ago, Rightmove has reported.

The firm’s latest First-Time Buyer Forecast found that not only is this a deterioration on the 26% recorded going into 2011, but it means an even bigger gap to bridge to the pre-credit crunch 40% levels typically associated with a more active and healthy housing market.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove comments: “The first-time buyer remains an endangered species. They perform an essential role at the foot of the property market food chain in allowing sellers on the bottom rung of the housing ladder to trade up