First-time buyers should make the most of the 2009 property market – or they could live to regret it, says Kent estate agent Nick Rooke,.

Nick, a partner at GW Finn and Sons, said the present situation of low mortgage rates and low prices would not last for long, so now was the time to invest in bricks and mortar.

"There’s a wide selection of properties at good prices on the market. For first-time buyers that means there is a good stock to choose from.

"So for buyers, now is the moment to find the property they’ve dreamed of, rather than the property that they might have had to settle for in different circumstances.

"There’s a great selection of property for first-time buyers; farm cottages that need doing up are a great buy at the moment. And in Sandwich, for example, you can pick up a very nice terraced house for around £150,000.

"There is only one way interest rates can go and that, at some point, is up. The situation isn’t going to last for ever and first-time buyers should see it as giving them a head start."

Nick said an unexpected bonus for first-time buyers was that parents seemed more willing to stump up a deposit for a house for their offspring rather than leave money festering in a low interest savings account earning virtually nothing.

"When it comes to a first-time purchase, the pattern we see is that most buyers tend to stick to towns and villages rather than completely rural areas. They also like to be close to schools and, of course, places of work.

"The other thing we see is that first-time buyers can be cautious, they haven’t seen economic conditions like this before.

"But if I were advising a young relative of my own I would say: 'If it is the right house, get on and buy it'.

"The market is yours. Make the most of it, it won’t last – in the property market nothing ever does."

Nick Rooke is based at GW Finn, Fordwich, near Canterbury.