A recent report by RBS had suggested that market conditions for first-time buyers were better than they had been for three years.
Our poll asked brokers if they had been placing more cases for first-time buyers recently than they had been earlier in the year, but over two-thirds of respondents said the market was stagnant.
Just 13% said that sales had improved, with a fifth of voters admitting that their sales to first-timers had actually fallen in recent times.
Geoff Trevorah, broker at Echo Home Finance, told Mortgage Solutions that government schemes like NewBuy and FirstBuy were well intentioned, but were having little effect on the day-to-day market.
“We’ve not had a great deal of first-time buyers recently so I would definitely agree the market is flat.
“Something that sums the present market up is that a property went on the market in Egham a while back, it would have been ideal for a first-time buyer but the market is so weak the estate agent was telling the seller that investors were his only bet for a sale.
“Nobody seems to think about government schemes. People don’t seem to use them at all. The big problem remains that young people can’t find the deposit they need to buy a house.
“In addition the rates on 90% and 95% mortgages are too high. Obviously the banks are pricing those rates like that because of the higher risk, but charging 5.5% and 5.75% is just too much.”