High School Epitaph!

According to a recently released report from the homeless charity Shelter the situation in terms of getting on the property ladder is more difficult than ever for fist time buyers at present, as a combination of high house prices and tighter lending conditions take their toll. Officials from Shelter have stated that affordability and accessibility have both been affected, and despite the recent interest rate cuts things are looking bleaker than ever for the average first time buyer.

The report shows that over the past ten years the price of houses has rocketed by 200%, yet in the same time period the average income has only climbed by around 53%. Officials added that in addition to this, the tighter credit conditions and more stringent loans lending criteria in place was making it even more difficult for first time buyers to stand a chance. Whilst house prices and interest rates and expected to continue falling over the year, many first time buyers cannot meet the more stringent lending criteria put into place by lenders, and many are unable to raise the higher deposits that lenders are now asking for.

An official from Shelter said: ‘Despite falling house prices, many lenders are increasing their mortgage rates, making an already desperate situation worse. It means there is a generation of young people and young families being locked out of the housing market without a hope of ever sharing in the asset wealth of the generation before.’

Over recent months first time buyers have seen a range of deals that were once popular amongst this group disappear from the shelves. The first to go were 125% mortgages, which have been popular amongst first time buyers in the past. Recently, Abbey withdrew the last of the 100% mortgages from the market, and even getting a 95% mortgage has now become difficult.

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