The first-time buyer crisis has been one of the major issues of the housing industry and recent events have ensured it is not about to go away. Nor, as a result, will the scapegoating.

One reason the issue has been in the headlines of late is the recent policy announcement by the Conservative Party that a Tory government would scrap stamp duty for first-time home buyers on all homes valued under £250,000. Then there was the YouGov survey, which involved two identical surveys of the public, one in late March and another at the end of September and start of October this year. Its principal finding was that the number of people who identified themselves as first-time buyers was down by 20 per cent during this six-month period.

Commenting on the figures, Louise Cuming, head of UK mortgages as price comparison website moneysupermarket.com said: “First-time buyers are the lifeblood of the housing market and provide essential liquidity, so the fact this segment is getting smaller is worrying for the economy as a whole.”

The most likely reason, she suggested, was that recent economic times had been “fraught with uncertainty”, which had given potential entrants to the housing market “cold feet” about the prospect. No mention here, therefore of the buy-to-let market. More on First-time buyers: is buy-to-let to blame?