Rightmove inaugural First-Time Buyer Report of 2011 has found that the proportion of buyers intending to purchase for the first time over the year ahead has dropped from 25.5% in the final quarter of 2010, to just 22.8% in Q1 2011. This is the second lowest figure Rightmove has ever recorded, just marginally above the 22.2% reported in Q3 of last year.

The firm has also reported that mortgage challenges are the main factors suppressing first-time buyer levels as more than half of respondents stated that their single biggest concern was a mortgage-related issue. The survey found that 44% of first-time buyers cite ‘raising enough deposit’, and a further 10% ‘meeting monthly mortgage repayments’, as their principle housing concern.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “The level of first-time buyers dropping below one-in-four of all prospective buyers is a big concern for the property market. The desirable level of first-time buyers for a healthy market is typically around 40% of all buyers