First-time buyers face the biggest battle in almost 30 years to make it on to the property ladder as the credit crunch sees nervous lenders demand ever-larger deposits.

The average new buyer needs a 17 per cent deposit – the highest since 1980.
Even then they’ll be lucky to get a loan, with banks imposing a clampdown.

The data, from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, dispels hopes of an end to the housing slump any time soon.

First-time buyers accounted for 40 per cent of the 39,900 loans last month.

Although the figure was up 14 per cent, there is always an upturn at this time of the year. Lending was down more than 50 per cent on last November.

About 70,000 loans for remortgaging were agreed, up 12 per cent on October but almost a third less than last year.

The CML’s director general Michael Coogan condemned “conflicting and incoherent” Government policy, with lenders encouraged to pass on rate cuts while beefing up their balance sheets.

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