1st-time buyers can take advantage of stagnating house prices

First-time buyers are primed to take advantage of stagnating house prices and keen sellers in 2019.

New analysis of the UK's housing market from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts house sales will drop by 5 percent compared with 2018.

But with prices expected to continue to fall or stand still, first-time buyers who have their finance in place - such as a deposit, mortgage and any Help to Buy backing - can look forward to securing their first home.

RICS has predicted house prices in London and the south-east will fall slightly, stay neutral in East Anglia and the south-west but to rise in the north-west, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

However Brexit pans out is likely to have a significant effect on the property market, according to RICS, but the surveyors' body dismissed the Bank of England's prediction of a 30 percent fall in house prices if Britain leaves the EU with no deal.