2011 was 'the year of the first-time buyer'

2011 was the year of the first-time buyer, according to one company, as more people than ever were taking advice on how to go about purchasing their first properties for sale.

According to unbiased.co.uk, requests for advice on first-time buying far outweighed any other type of financial advice people were looking for throughout the entirety of the year.

The professional advice website said that it became apparent throughout 2011 that people were becoming more keen to buy property for the first time as searches for this kind of advice became more and more prominent, taking over all other kinds of advice.

By the end of the year, searches for first-time buying advice for UK property sat at 36 per cent of all queries. It peaked in August, when more people buy homes, at 41 per cent.

First-time buying has been strong due to the introduction of schemes such as FirstBuy, which has seen the government offer people the chance to buy a new build home for 80 per cent of their usual value, while only needing to generate a five per cent deposit.

As well as an increase in advice for first timers, there was also a big increase in the number of people who are looking to get advice on how to become a landlord through buy-to-let purchasing.

The number of enquiries about buy-to-let mortgages jumped from 17 per cent at the start of the year to 25 per cent in October.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, said: "2011 saw a busy year for first time buyers looking for help with their mortgages.  While mortgage rates are continuing to be low as a result of the ongoing low base rate, lending criteria continue to be tight, leading to an increase in first time buyers looking for guidance and help."