Link: http://www.moneymatchmaker.com

The recent trend for property prices to rise will go into reverse over the next couple of years, it has been predicted.

Chief executive of first-time buyer services firm Firstrung Paul Holmes said the average house prices was still between 15 and 20 per cent above the long-term average rep and this made recent increases "unsustainable".

"While it is unaffordable for the majority, the prices will have to come down in order for that marketplace to move forward," he remarked.

The only way this would happen without a price drop is if "funny money" came into they market, something he said is not likely "in our lifetime".

Such a situation could mean that the cost of mortgages will drop as the cost of purchasing a home drops again.

Mr Holmes also branded as "nonsense" a report by Halifax this week that affordability for first-time buyers is improving.

The survey, published last week, suggested that the average first-time buyer could now afford the typical home in 39 per cent of local authority areas, compared with just six per cent in 2007.