First-time buyers now have a brief 'window of opportunity', according to members of the network of independent estate agents, Home Sale Network.

With house price growth cooling, first-time buyers can benefit from the fact that some purchasers are currently holding back to evaluate the current market.

More than 87% of Home Sale Network’s 750 members, responding to their latest monthly survey, confirm that now is the moment for first-time buyers to put in the offer that they can afford.

A further 12% agree that, in the current “buyers’ market”, properties needing modernisation or improvement will often be the slowest to sell – presenting first-time buyers with an opportunity, if they are prepared to invest some DIY effort.

The latest quarterly property market report from Home Sale Network’s members throughout Britain recorded that, up to Christmas, sales to first-time buyers were just 13.2% of completions. But the New Year has given them a short-term chance to overtake more hesitant buyers.

Managing Director of Home Sale Network, Richard Tucker, explains: “We are confident that there will be no dramatic decline in property prices, given all the predictions on 2005 interest rates and the continuing miss-match between supply and demand."

“Meanwhile, there is a window of opportunity for first-time buyers to exploit this brief lull.”

“This will be a short lived opportunity. It will not take long for those buyers who are currently hesitating, having been unnerved by some of the recent media alarms, to recover their confidence and get back into the market.”