How to make the most of your first property purchase

UK property guru Phil Spencer has this advice for first-time buyers: you're only a first-time buyer once, so make the most of that position.

Spencer, who presents Kirstie and Phil's Love It Or List It on TVNZ1 with his long-time colleague Kirstie Allsopp, said that that pressures in the housing market in the UK had put many first-time buyers there at a disadvantage.

In an interview with Coast presenter Jason Reeves that aired today, Spencer said first-time buyers were fundamental to the housing market and their level of involvement had an effect on the rest of the market.

"There's pressure in the housing market, particularly for first-time buyers. You are only a first-time buyer once, so you've got to make best use of that position," he said.

He advised first-time buyers to look for properties that had the potential to rise in value. "I would always look for an opportunity to add value. How do you add value? You buy a property you can improve, you buy a property in an area that is likely to improve over the time that you live there, or you buy a property that you can increase the size of.

"And if you can do all of those things, you are in the hot seat."

Unlike Location, Location, Location, in which Spencer and Allsopp searched for properties on the behalf of buyers, Love It Or List It helps British families decide if it's best to renovate their existing home or sell up and move.

Each week, Allsopp and a team of experts transform a house to make it lovable again, while Spencer seeks out new properties for the owners to buy.

"Love or List It feels topical, in that it is relevant to what's going on in the market right now," he said.

"It's a very normal debate to be having in a family home when house prices are high and the cost of living is high: should we stay or should we go? Should we invest more money in the house or is it a better option to sell up and move on?"

Kirstie and Phil's Love It Or List It airs on TVNZ1 on Wednesdays at 7.30pm.