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Lenders are starting to look at the following categories: baby boomers, generation X and generation Y.

Generation Y is aged less than 28 and this is the new generation of first-time buyers. Lenders are starting to look at all their baby-boomers' mortgages maturing and in the next five years there is a tremendous amount of mortgages due to mature that fall into that category.

That money has to be circulated again and lenders are starting to understand how they need to be competitive to attract new buyers into the market.

Lenders are now starting to apply some common sense to their lending proposals and look for competitive deals to attract new buyers into the market.

I believe the crisis is over and properties will now start to increase in value but at the present time there are some significant bargains available and now is the time to get on the ladder.

We have not seen the amount of negative equity we saw previously in the 1990s and I think with the high demand for properties throughout the UK prices will continue to rise, even though the increase may be slow in the next couple of years.

I do believe the market will now start to recover.

I do not believe we will see first-time buyer markets back at the ridiculous levels that were being applied by Northern Rock and we all know what effect that had on the market.

I believe a 5 per cent deposit and maybe even a 10 per cent deposit in the next few years will become the norm in the market and lenders will price products accordingly.

Colin Parkin is director of Ample Financial Services