The British real estate recovery effort could last for years, as first time home buyers don’t have a lack of motivation - they have a lack of funds. The reason for a lack of funds can be primarily blamed on lending criteria present today.

One third of all male Brits and one fifth of all female Brits aged 20 to 34 live with their parents. This is not a situation most of them want; it is what they take. Lending institutions are making it close to impossible to get on the property ladder and own a house. Large deposits, or down payments are required due to the strict conditions applied to everyone, let alone young people who might be dealing with, among other things, lack of a trustworthy credit history.

The average age for the unassisted first time home buyer is 37. It looks like that will remain true for some time. This, according to Curzon Investment Property, a London based investment specialist.

James Moss, director of Curzon, described the climate in the frankest terms possible saying: "While Spain has swathes of unwanted new homes, the paradox in Britain is that despite the pent up demand, we don’t have the mortgage market to support a recovery. And things are not about to improve. The inertia of the wholesale lending markets will take years to shift and the 300 billion pound time bomb of mortgage lending supported by the Bank of England and Treasury schemes that needs to be refinanced by 2015 will also be a major headache for the UK government."

He added: "All we have seen from the UK’s new coalition government is measures that tinker around the edges. Nothing we’ve seen address the core economic problems of supporting a recovery and moves to give local councils the right to veto new developments simply undermine the fundamentals of the housing market which rely on certainty and economies of scale."

The website unbiased.co.uk has had a 24 per cent increase looking for advice from a whole of market mortgage broker, compared with this time last year. This is evidence of definite demand.

The trend will continue though, as the wholesale money markets get even tighter.