Britain's 1st time home buyers up 12% in 2012

The number of Britain's first-time home buyers increased by 12 percent in 2012, hitting a five-year high, according to a Halifax survey report issued on Saturday. The report attributed the rise to more mortgages coming on the market and lowered interest rates. It said about 216,000 people got their feet onto the property ladder in 2012, the highest number since the credit crunch began, but the figures is still almost half the 402,800 people who bought their first home in 2006. The average age of a first-time buyer has increased to 30, from 29 a year ago, and the typical deposit required is now 20 percent - compared with the deposit of around 10 percent put down in 2007. Another report of the home-loans provider Halifax, showed that Britain's house prices increased by 1.0 percent in November from October, and the average house price in the country stood at 160,879 pounds (259,015 U.S. dollars) in November, which was 1.3 percent lower than one year ago. Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "The number of first-time buyers has risen to a five-year high, boosted by the improvement in affordability resulting from the reductions in both house prices and mortgage rates in recent years. "Conditions for potential first-time buyers, however, remain very difficult with problems raising the necessary deposit and concerns over the economic climate."He also said that first-time buyers have become increasingly reliant on extra help to give them a push onto the ladder. Halifax is now part of state-controlled Lloyds Banking Group. (1 pound = 1.61 U.S. dollars )