Determination in the housing market has never been more crucial, according to building firm boss John Elliott.

Mr Elliott, managing director of Millwood Homes, which has a range of properties throughout Kent, says: “For now, we should remain positive as it has been a good start to 2012. Miracles do not happen overnight, so we must be patient. Aspirations and determination need to hold strong for just a little while longer.”

Schemes like Funding for Lending, NewBuy and FirstBuy have all been introduced to lend a helping hand and boost the market, says Mr Elliott.

He added: “A recent survey carried out by the website Primelocation has revealed that almost two thirds (63.4%) of parents have contributed financially (on average £38,903) towards their children’s first homes. £154,991 is the average cost of a first-time property, so parents are stumping up approximately a 25% deposit.

“Why such a desperate need to help? Funnily enough, despite our five-year recession, we still view the property market as a solid investment.

“To give you some idea of the strength of property as an investment, recent data from Nationwide shows that the average UK house price has increased from £1,891 to £166,022 during the Queen’s reign – almost an 88-fold-increase over the 60-year period. Having recently celebrated her Jubilee, it appears that an Englishman’s castle is as robust as our Queen!

Mr Elliott believes that history has taught us that property is a wise investment.

“Values might fall but historically they always bounce back,” he went on to add.

“It is the strength of bricks and mortar that keeps it resilient. Even after the recessions we have experienced, property will always be a worthwhile investment, particularly long term.

“There are lots of variables and factors when it comes to the future of the property market and we are all well aware that there is still a lot of work to do, particularly with the Eurozone crisis. The lack of mortgage finance remains the biggest risk to the performance of the housebuilding sector and a lot of its fate rides on the decisions being made regarding the Eurozone.”