House price flatlining is a good thing, despite estate agents' gripes

First-time buyers are taking advantage of low interest rates and a flat market, and why shouldn’t they?Over the past year the rate of house price inflation has fallen while the number of first-time buyers has risen to its highest level since 2006. These two facts are connected: the reason young people have become renters rather than owner-occupiers is that property became expensive.Property has become so dear that the average first-time buyer is now 30 years old and has a salary of £