Bradford seems to be missing out on an increase in the number of first-time buyers.

But more property investors are snapping up homes in the district at knock-down prices in the hope of making a killing when the market recovers.

While a report by estate agents says the number of first-time buyers has risen for three months running since August, a leading agent says this is not the case in the Bradford market.

According to the National Association of Estate Agents, the proportion of first-time buyers increased for the third month in a row in November.

The NAEA said 10.4 per cent of all properties sold during the month were bought by first-time buyers, up from a low of just 8.3 per cent in August. It said the improvement offered a “glimmer of hope” among otherwise gloomy statistics as the market suffered from a seasonal downturn.

Prices continued to fall during November, while there was also a dip in both the number of sales agreed and the number of house-hunters in the market. The group said the Christmas slowdown meant that the impact of interest rate cuts and announcements to help the housing market would not be felt until the New Year.

James Watts, a director of Robert Watts estate agents, which has five offices around the district, said there was no evidence of first-time buyers returning to the market.

Mr Watts, a former president of the Bradford District Estate Agents’ Association, said: “ We see little sign of first-time buyers coming back into the market. They are still having problems raising finance as most lenders require deposits of at least 15 per cent.

“The figures in the survey don’t reflect the situation in the Bradford area as far as we are concerned.

“We have seen an increase in the number of investors moving into the market and taking advantage of the current low prices to buy properties.

“In due course these homes will come onto the rental market but there is a danger of this sector becoming saturated. Rental values have already become static as more homes for rent become available.”

According to the NAEA, the average number of sales agreed per agent fell to six in November, down from seven during the previous month, although they remained above August’s record low.

Research carried out for the Building Societies Association pointed to a brighter market in 2009.