Falling house prices could be poised to help some first-time buyers (FTB) get a foot on the property ladder, it has been suggested.

Forecasts for next year predict that the housing market will continue to cool and figures from the Halifax revealed yesterday that prices dropped for the third month in a row in November, falling by 1.1 per cent.

Lucian Cook, director of research at estate agency Savills, said that "the slowdown is going to provide some opportunities for some elements of the market".

"The first-time buyers who [price falls] will help are those who have accumulated relatively high levels of cash reserves, and who are well placed to buy."

Mr Cook argued that as mortgage lenders become increasingly choosy about who they grant mortgages to, some buyers may have a harder time securing finance for their home, enabling those in a more comfortable financial situation to have a better chance at finding a home.

"[There will be] less brochure collectors, less serial viewers; the people who are going to be in the market to buy are really going to be in the market to buy," he commented.