Property Update: Time to fly the coop

BUILDERS trying to sell to first-time buyers are switching their sales technique. Previously they had concentrated on persuading young people that it could be as cheap to buy as to rent. Beazer Homes discovered that more than two-thirds of people buying one-bed flats on its Highclear development in Colchester had come straight from living with their parents. From now on it will use a cartoon to show how much nicer it is to live without mum and dad. The company also found that only a small proportion of new owners are single women. Most women did not earn enough to finance a mortgage on the pounds 41,500 asked.