First-time buyer demand on the rise, according to Rics

Rics' research also found interest amomg buy-to-let investors also increased however these investors are now gravitating towards houses rather than flats.

The Rics' new buyer enquiries series has reported a positive net balance for 11 consecutive months.

According to the findings, surveyors reported 13 per cent of new enquiries derived from first-time buyers with a net balance of 28 per cent reporting the number of first-time buyer enquiries had increased in the last three months.

Meanwhile, the net balance of surveyors reporting an increase in first-time buyer demand was most rapid in the south east and East Anglia at 56 per cent and 43 per cent respectively.

However, surveyors in Yorkshire and Humberside and the north reported falls in first-time buyer demand over the previous three months.

Elsewhere, a net balance of 2 per cent more surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in buy-to-let enquiries in aggregate, with interest generally stronger for houses than flats.

London bucked the trend by reporting a positive balance of 8 per cent more surveyors reporting higher demand for flats compared with a negative balance of 16 per cent for houses.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist of Rics, said: "House price falls and lower interest rates have gone some way to tempting first time buyers back into the market.

"However, buyers still need to have greater deposits to access the market with lenders remaining generally cautious.

"This is making it hard to translate this interest into hard transactions. Meanwhile, the firmer tone to the market has also rekindled enquiries from buy to let investors albeit in a more measured way than was visible prior to the onset of the credit crunch."