First-time buyers 'need house price correction'

Scottish first-time buyers, as well as those elsewhere in the UK, are in need of a correction in house prices, it has been claimed.

A house price correction programme would be of much more use to people looking to step onto the housing ladder, compared with other government initiatives such as the Open Market HomeBuy scheme, Firstrung has stated.

Paul Holmes, chief executive officer at Firstrung, commented that these measures may still result in the over pricing of new homes.

Targeting first-time buyers is the only way in which the government will be able to achieve their housing targets in the next five years, Mr Holmes surmised.

"But I’ll tell you what first-time buyers need more than anything," he said.

"A moderate or a significant correction in house prices of about 20 per cent. That’s the best gift that a first-time buyer can have."

Rightmove’s House Price Index for March this year suggested that there had been a 0.8 per cent increase in the UK’s house prices despite the ongoing economic slowdown.