The latest data and analysis from UK Finance has revealed that, during August, there were 35,500 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, a 2% rise against the same month a year earlier.

Overall, however, things are quite subdued in the housing market, and we can see that it is first-time buyers that are boosting the whole sector. And while this is positive now, what happens when the help to buy scheme ends and stamp duty is brought back in? The government needs to be thinking about some more long term solutions otherwise the market is going to really slow down. I think a re-haul of stamp duty would certainly help, and I think we also need to see some incentives that encourage first time buyers to buy older homes too; this could really help move things along the chain.