New initiatives aimed at tackling housing issues for first-time buyers and key workers, announced by John Prescott at his Sustainable Communities Summit, have met with a lukewarm response from a network of independent estate agents.

More than 750 members of Home Sale Network, which selects estate agents on the basis of quality services, were asked to assess the ideas, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister at his recent housing summit.

Almost a fifth (18%) of respondents said that his ideas could provide a significant contribution towards solving problems faced by people struggling to get on the housing ladder, but most (58%) said that his proposals can only make a marginal difference.

More than a quarter (25.5%) declared that, while "worthy", Mr Prescott’s ideas will make no noticeable difference.

One of the biggest problems for many Home Sale Network estate agents (38%) is the geographical limitations of the Deputy Prime Minister’s proposals, which are focused on the South East and the North.

Less than 4% of Home Sale Network members believe that Mr Prescott has chosen the right regions to benefit from his new initiatives.

A central point of the Deputy Prime Minister’s presentation to the housing summit was the announcement of a competition to build houses to sell at £60,000, using land provided from the public sector. He pointed to a display house exhibited at the event in Manchester.

More than a third (39%) of Home Sale Network members say that, while some major builders will be keen to score points by making an effort to win the competition, most will remain focused on meeting the shortage of higher cost, higher profit homes.

Most (58%) said that any success for the £60,000 house challenge will depend on the location and appeal of public sector land sites made available, and the willingness of builders to embrace a lower margin sector at a time when there is a shortage of high margin market priced homes.

ODPM proposals for boosting the construction of homes for affordable rent, and partial ownership, were also met with mild enthusiasm by Home Sale Network’s members.

With sales to first-time buyers at a long term low, and the average age of first-time buyers now well into the 30’s, less than 12% believe that the Deputy Prime Minister’s ideas will provide a new option for people excluded from the housing market.

Almost half (46%) said that these ideas are "merely tinkering around the edges".

The real issue, they say, is the need to deliver more land for development, to instruct planners to approve more developments, and to persuade Gordon Brown to increase the threshold for stamp duty.

Managing director of Home Sale Network, Richard Tucker, said: "The £60,000 threshold for stamp duty has not changed since 1993, when that was the average price for houses. Twelve years later, average house prices now exceed £160,000. By doing nothing, the government has massively boosted its tax take from house sales," said Mr Tucker.

While Home Sale Network members do not view the Deputy Prime Minister’s initiatives to boost housing in the government’s targeted growth areas as a real solution to the UK’s housing crisis, they do recognise the crucial message Mr Prescott is sending.

"At a time when some commentators are still warning of a house price crash, the Deputy Prime Minister would not be announcing these initiatives if his department believed that such a crash is in prospect," said Mr Tucker.