first-time buyers
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Features
Are you ready for a first-time-buyer rush?
With a new Government focus on first time buyers, Matt Dendle says “Modernise now to make sure you’ll be able to navigate the rush!”
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Latest property news
‘Bank of mum and dad’ backed first time buyers driving property market, it is claimed
If you’re wondering which way the property market is moving, then be heartened by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). It says that while the number of home loans dropped 1% year-on-year, the number of first-time buyer loans has increased by 9%, driven in part by parents re-mortgaging to help their offspring get on the property ladder, it has been claimed. The number of first time borrowers in the market hit 337,000 last year, the highest level in any twelve month period since the financial crash of 2008, the CML says. Re-mortgaging activity in the property market increased by 54% between December last year and January this year, and although this is driven in part by competition among lenders to offer lower and lower rates, agent Haart says it’s also driven by ‘bank of mum and dad’ parents. “We are seeing more and more parents on the ground looking to release equity in their homes to support increasing numbers of young people who are leaning on their parents for support to get onto the property ladder,” says Haart’s CEO Paul Smith (pictured, left). “With rents sent to increase as landlords are squeezed, and ONS figures showing that house prices have reached 10 times the average…
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Features
Focus on first-time buyers
More first-time buyers bought a home in 2016 than in any year since 2007, says Tara Dulake, that’s great news for estate agents.
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Latest property news
More first time buyers being helped by family, say agents
A third of estate agents say first time buyers they deal with are being supported financially by parents or grandparents, according to research by equity release service Key Partnerships. It quizzed 104 estates agents across the UK and said that nearly half recorded an increase in the number of first time buyers being helped by family. Perhaps predictably Key Partnerships says equity release is one of the main ways grandparents in particular can raise funds to help grandchildren get on the property ladder, but that only 36% of estate agents were aware of this. Key Partnerships says most first time buyers turn to their parents or grandparents for help with a deposit, which on average is £33,000 according to lender the Halilfax, up from £17,500 ten years ago. In London, the average first time buyer deposit is £91,400 and in the South East, £44,000. “Estate agents are valued as a source of financial guidance and it is clear that those who can discuss equity release as a potential alternative fund-raising solution will be able to benefit from an additional revenue stream by referring potential clients to a specialist as well as securing more house sales,” says Will Hale, a director…
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Uncategorised
How long does it take first time buyers to save up?
Shocking figures just out reveal that it takes five and a half years for the average couple to save up for a deposit while it takes singleton savers ten years. The data from the London market is even more hair-rising. There, couples are taking on average nine years to save up a deposit while single savers require 14 years, says Hamptons International. This is despite recent help for from the Bank of England, which announced a cut in interest rates in early August. This has been passed on by lenders in recent weeks including to first time buyers (FTBs) and, if they shop around, rates for ‘discounted mortgage’ products can be found for under 3% while several two-year fixed rates are available at 3.5%. Overall, August’s 0.25% cut to interest rates, if fully passed on, mean that mortgage payments could on average be £244 a year lower for the average first-time buyer home in England and Wales. In London, the agent says, mortgage payments would be £518 lower. But despite the long wait to gather a deposit, enthusiasm for property ownership is not waning; figures from the National Association of Estate Agents show that the number of sales to FTBs has…
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Latest property news
The Brexit effect
It’s that ‘turmoil’ word again, as the UK flounders in a mire of political pronouncements and predictions.
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Features
The EU Referendum
NAEA and ARLA say that an ‘Out’ vote risks major construction skills deficit, jeopardising plans to expand British housing stock, but a Brexit could help first-time-buyers onto the property ladder…
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Housing Market
Home buying barriers frustrate 1.7m tenants
One in three private tenants has put their plans to buy on hold and remained in rented accommodation longer than planned, according to Experian research. Home ownership has been considered an integral part of ‘The British Dream’ for generations, yet Experian’s survey of nearly 1,500 private tenants in the UK suggests 1,655,680 tenants are frustrated first-time buyers. 18 per cent private tenants don’t believe they would be accepted for a mortgage so feel renting is their only option, while 10 per cent have struggled to raise a deposit, delaying their plans to buy. A further five per cent have had to prolong their time renting as they’ve been held up in securing a mortgage. Despite making regular payments for their housing, private tenants don’t see this reflected on their credit report in the same way mortgage payers do. To help them get a mortgage, access finance or prove their identity online, Experian has developed the Rental Exchange. Experian’s Jonathan Westley (left) said, “Many would-be first-time buyers face the challenge of saving for a deposit on a home while paying rent each month. While our research also shows that a significant amount of people are happy to rent in the long-term,…
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Housing Market
New homes: Government is “pulling out all the stops”
On the first day back at work after the festive break, Prime Minister David Cameron announced another new scheme to get Britain building. Smaller developers will be able to buy sites in England with planning permission in place – with 40 per cent of the new-builds to be “starter homes” aimed at first-time buyers. Direct commissioning has not been used on this scale since Margaret Thatcher started the regeneration of Docklands, the benefit is that it allows the government to assume responsibility for developing land, instead of large building firms. Prime Minister David Cameron said it was a “huge shift in government policy. Nothing like this has been done on this scale in three decades, government rolling its sleeves up and getting homes built.” The Labour party said he was using “rhetoric to hide his failure on new homes.” Shadow Housing Minister John Healey said the announcement did not promise new investment or affordable homes beyond those already announced. ‘Radical’ shift Adding to Mr Cameron’s energy rush, Communities Secretary Greg Clark (left) said that the government was not only rolling up its sleeves but was “pulling out all the stops to get the country building.” “We know that consistently 90%…
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Uncategorised
The market’s hot…warm…cold
Report Headlines Rightmove: “First-time buyer prices surge nearly 10 per cent in a year.” NAEA: “Sales to first time buyers rise.” Nationwide: “Slight pick-up in house price growth in October.” Halifax: “Annual house price growth rises to 9.7 per cent.” Agency Express: “October’s property market bucks seasonal trends.” LSL: “Fastest annual rise in house prices for six months.” Hometrack: “City level house price growth tentative slowdown.” Land Registry: “September data shows a monthly price increase of 1.0 per cent and the annual price change now stands at 5.3 per cent.” KATE SAYS: “The market clearly had a bit of an unexpected ‘up-tick’ this month, as until now, price growth seemed to have been slowing ‘on average’ each month. An odd statement though from Rightmove suggests that buy to let investors are “competing” with first time buyers. This shouldn’t really be happening as smart investors should secure a property at a discount, with cash, for example and find a way to add value. First time buyers on the other hand have the advantage over investors of needing a much lower deposit, essentially ‘gearing’ their purchase with a five per cent deposit or accessing schemes such as new build Help to Buy.…
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