First-time buyers have virtually vanished from the property market new figures show. The Times

The number of people describing themselves as first-time homebuyers fell between March and September, from 20% of the UK population to 16%, research by price comparison site money-supermarket.com, has found.

Separate data from the RICS confirmed that demand among first-time buyers is slowing. The number of new buyer inquiries fell at the fastest rate since March 2003 in September and for the 10th month in a row, while house prices fell for the second successive month, a RICS report said.