Average first-time buyer age going up, study finds |
06 2008 |
| The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK keeps creeping up as properties remain out of the reach of thousands, a new study has revealed. According to research carried out by mform.co.uk, the typical first-time buyer is now in their 30s, with just 34.5 per cent of twenty-somethings managing to climb onto the property ladder. Significantly, this stands in contrast to last year's figures, which showed that almost exactly half of all first-time buyers were under the age of 30. One of the major reasons cited by property experts for this trend is the growing reluctance of UK lenders to offer high-value mortgages to first-time borrowers, with the average product on the market offering 77 per cent of a property's value, down from an 85 per cent loan-to-value average in 2007. "The end of the housing market boom with house prices dropping ought to be good news for first-time buyers who can finally be in a position to afford the home that was out of reach," said the website's marketing and business development Francis Ghiloni. "However, with the mortgage market contracting lenders are getting tougher on how much they will lend and what level of deposit they'll demand which means first-time buyers are yet to see much benefit from the house price slide." At the same time, studies have shown that demand for rental property keeps increasing as people struggle to find an affordable mortgage.  |
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