One leading financial advisory group is recommending that homebuyers not be unduly concerned about fluctuations in the mortgage market.

Dominic Mansley, managing director of Key Financial Consultants Ltd, has stressed that people who are simply looking to get a foot on the property ladder will not be afflicted by any downturn in property value.

While acknowledging that buy-to-let investors are indeed facing unfavourable circumstances at the moment, Mr Mansley said that for homeowners "it doesn''t really matter what happens in the market, as long as the mortgage is affordable".

He encouraged homeowners to view their dwelling not as an investment but as a home, stressing that unless a consumer is planning to move in the near future, any transient fluctuations in value are effectively meaningless as the capital appreciation gained on the home will not be liquidised.

The latest figures from the land registry show that the average UK house price stood at £183,896 in September, a year-on-year rise of 8.7 per cent.