First-time buyers 'just cannot afford deposits' research finds
16th March 2009
Prospective first-time buyers now face the prospect of having to put down a deposit equivalent to 111 per cent of their annual wage in order to get a foot onto the property ladder, new research has found.
Coming soon after the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) called for more to be done to help struggling first-time buyers, figures compiled by Citigroup show that the average deposit size on homes in the UK now stands at 24 per cent, the highest rate on record.
This means that anyone looking to buy a £128,000 property would be required to pay £30,000 up front, with added charges pushing this one-off payment above the average wage level.
According to the analysts, this situation is pushing more people to stay in the rental sector, spelling good news for buy-to-let property investors.
"People just cannot afford the deposit, and the need to save for a deposit hits both housing demand and spending," Citigroup's Michael Saunders noted.
According to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), just 8,900 loans to first-time buyers were approved in January, less than half the amount given the green light in the same month of 2008.
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UK Property Investment
16th March 2009
Prospective first-time buyers now face the prospect of having to put down a deposit equivalent to 111 per cent of their annual wage in order to get a foot onto the property ladder, new research has found.
Coming soon after the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) called for more to be done to help struggling first-time buyers, figures compiled by Citigroup show that the average deposit size on homes in the UK now stands at 24 per cent, the highest rate on record.
This means that anyone looking to buy a £128,000 property would be required to pay £30,000 up front, with added charges pushing this one-off payment above the average wage level.
According to the analysts, this situation is pushing more people to stay in the rental sector, spelling good news for buy-to-let property investors.
"People just cannot afford the deposit, and the need to save for a deposit hits both housing demand and spending," Citigroup's Michael Saunders noted.
According to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), just 8,900 loans to first-time buyers were approved in January, less than half the amount given the green light in the same month of 2008.
<< Back to News