House prices rose 1.2% on average in April, pushing up the cost of a typical UK home to £209,454. The Department of Communities and Local Government says annual inflation is now 11.3% nationwide. Northern Ireland continues to outperform every other region, with prices up by 54.1% in the 12 months to the end of April. London remains the strongest market in England, with annual inflation of 14% taking the average price of a home in a capital above £320,000.

Homes for first-time buyers account for just 3.1% of the housing stock, while family-sized homes make up to 67%, according to Hometrack, the property consultancy. “While it’s true to say that half of the new properties built last year were flats, the majority of these - 90% - had two bedrooms or more. One-bed new homes accounted for just 10%”, says Richard Donnell, Hometrack’s director of research. He says government policy-makers, local and central, should set targets for more small homes.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) says the share of transactions involving first-time buyers is 10.3% - down from 29% in 2000. It blames the overall rise in house prices, buy-to-let landlords snapping up smaller homes, recent interest-rate rises and the difficulties faced by first-time buyers in London and the southeast in finding homes priced below the 1% stamp-duty level £125,000. “Abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers is one quick way the government could make a difference to this struggling group,” says Stewart Lilly, the NAEA president.