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Even if the mortgage market begins to show signs of improvement in the New Year, first-time buyers may still find themselves struggling, a property expert has highlighted.

One of the main issues is that large deposits are needed for homes, which some first-time buyers still do not have, said Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills.

"They don't have the affordability advantage that perhaps some people already on the housing market would have if they were to compare owning against renting," he explained.

The expert stressed that it is very difficult to accurately predict what the mortgage industry has in store, but it could be safe to say that the last people to benefit will be first-time buyers.

FirstRungNow.com recently found that 40 per cent of potential first-time buyers have access to a ten per cent deposit.

Nonetheless, two-thirds of those polled believe that 2011 will be a better time to get on the property ladder when compared with the current situation.