Over the weekend while you were taking down and packing away the Christmas decorations for yet another year, you may have been wondering what 2008 holds for you in the context of any dealings you may have with the property market, whether it be as a buyer or seller.

Over the Christmas holidays every other page of the newspapers seemed to contain an article predicting what 2008 would have in store for the property market. Numerous, seemingly repetitive questions were posed. Would it be wise to buy a property in 2008? Are prices going to rise or crash? Who should you listen to when it comes to taking property market predictions seriously? Who can you trust? And so it went on. Mostly the type of negative media hype which we experienced in the last few months of 2007.

However, it's a New Year, so I prefer to focus on the positive side of what 2008 might bring, for first time buyers in particular. This was certainly the tone of one such article which I read, which came from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The RICS predict that first time buyers should have a better chance of getting their foot on the property ladder in 2008, than for many years. It said that with interest rates expected to be cut by the Bank of England to 5% in the first half of the year, coupled with the fallback in local property prices in the last quarter of 2007 first time buyers will be better placed than for a number of years. The RICS believes that there is strong pent-up demand from first time buyers who have been waiting for an opportunity to get into the property market. As asking prices are now being adjusted or "corrected" to a new reality, this will allow first timers to enter the market at more affordable levels and transaction numbers will increase providing the property market with a more stable platform. In addition, investor activity, which was at a peak early in 2007 is now greatly reduced and there is less competition for the purchase of properties in the sector of the market in which first time buyers are active.

The Chief Executive of Allied Surveyors, with whom our company has a strong association with, through professional valuations and surveying, commented in another article that he felt the New Year would be a great time for buyers to capitalise on a weaker market. He commented that the recent cuts in interest rates in December, with more to come in 2008, will ease the pain of mortgage costs for the vast majority and says we have been witnessing a "blip", not the "first wave of a disaster". The Bank of England move will undoubtedly restore confidence and ease the path for first time buyers currently unable to secure a competitive mortgage in today's climate.

Confidence is key to the property market and it all starts at the bottom end of the market with the first time buyers. It is these consumers who stimulate the purchase market. They are a vital driving force for a healthy industry. We always say in this business if the first time buyers can get moving in the marketplace so can everyone else. The signs look promising for 2008 but time will tell. Have a Happy New Year and Happy House Hunting!