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But the availability of a reasonable deposit still appears to be a challenge for a number of first time buyers, with only 12% having a deposit of more than 20% of the property value and over a quarter (26%) having just a 5-10% deposit. Unfortunately 35% said they had less than 5% deposit which was likely to continue to make it difficult for them to get a mortgage.

Two thirds of respondents also said that they had found it difficult to get a competitively priced deal with over a third (38%) blaming this on the size of their deposit.

However the importance of their credit history didn’t go unnoticed for 30% who said they thought they hadn’t been able to get a good deal because they had previously defaulted on credit or loans. And 17% felt their lack of any credit history to date had been a detrimental factor.

"Clearly the challenging financial conditions are still making it hard for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder," said Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director, Equifax. "But what our latest research, conducted in early October, shows is that there is a new level of confidence that probably hasn’t existed for the last 12 months or so."

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