FIRST-time buyers are the key to the property market. Unless young people take that first step on the rung then no one else can move up. But escalating prices means the average first-time buyer is now over 30 and has been saving for four years or more for a deposit.

So what are developers doing to help them into their first starter home and how innovative are they being in terms of both financial help and good design?

From a large entry the judges, Ian Perry, housing spokesman for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Doug Chadwick, past president of RIBA north west and architectural journalist Ian Martin chose a shortlist of three schemes.

Each will be visited later this month before the winner is announced at the Midland Hotel on October 4.

MoHo, in Castlefield: A brave move into pre-fabs by Urban Splash, who have never been afraid of being the first to try something new.

Being built off-site means they can control the conditions and all kitchen and bathrooms simply need connecting after the apartments have been craned onto the steel shell.

The same basic module gives three different apartment types, a one bed, one bed plus enclosed dining space and two bed with dining.

They all have outside balcony space and the building itself has lots of funky features like the shiny red entrance lobby, lots of wood panelling and a nicely designed interior courtyard area.

Prices started at £130,000 but a shared ownership deal with Manchester Methodist Housing means first timers can buy a 50 per cent stake bringing them in at an affordable £65,000 plus rent.

SportCity Living, East Manchester: A phenomenal success from the moment it launched, SportCity Living brought a completely new look to a challenging area of the city. Countryside Properties had to balance good design with affordability and obviously got it right with the first three phases selling out in months bringing new people into the area.

The location, next to the City of Manchester Stadium, close to the Asda retail park, the proposed new Metrolink stop and Phillips Park has appealed not only to investors looking for long term gains but professionals looking for their first home as well as local people.

A two-bed apartment here, with balcony and parking space is selling now for £154,000 but again there have been a limited number of shared ownership properties available through Manchester Methodist Housing Association.

No1 The Crescent, Salford: The distinctive curve of the old TGWU building on the Crescent was an iconic Salford landmark but architects MBLC have come up with a modern and dramatic equivalent for this sensitive and awkward site.

The building has 31 apartments, 18 of which are available on a shared option basis through the Irwell Valley Housing Assocation the rest through Lovell Homes with prices starting at £115,000 to £138,000 but buying a 50 per cent stake makes them more affordable.

At ground level the curved wall screens the undercroft parking but also provides a backdrop for a piece of art by Liam Curtin marking the site's links with the union.

This is a bold collaboration between a developer and a housing association with amazing attention to detail and history giving first timers the chance to live in a distinctive and important building.
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