No more than 300,000 first-time buyers were able to enter the UK property market in 2007, 44 per cent less than in 2002 (532,000) and the lowest number since 1980. According to the latest first-time buyer (FTB) review by a leading high street bank, the average property would be unaffordable for FTBs in 466 of the 483 surveyed towns. The research indicated that the average price paid by FTBs increased by 15 per cent in 2007, from £151,720 to £175,093, while six regions have seen prices double in the last five years.