Buyers disappearing from UK market as renting demand soars

01 2008
As prices remain out of the reach of most and confidence in UK property keeps falling, would-be first-time buyers have 'all but disappeared from the market', a new report has concluded.

Coming just days after the Bank of England revealed that the number of mortgages being granted across the country has hit a near-record low, new figures released by Nationwide show that prices fell for the ninth consecutive month in June.

Indeed, the fact that the average property has lost £14,000 in value since last summer will be seen as justification for thousands of young professionals who have opted to stay in the rental sector for the time being.

Such a decline, which has been described by many observers as the worst since the 1970s, is being made worse by the fact that many other prospective first-time buyers, who would usually prop the market up, are still unable to get the necessary deposit together to make the step onto the property ladder.

Darren Cook, mortgage expert at MoneyFacts, explained: "It's nearly impossible for a standard first time buyer to get on the housing ladder.

"And if they can get a mortgage, many are quite rightly nervous of buying a property that will fall in price over the next six months. Then they'll be in negative equity."
ADNFCR-1219-ID-18664275-ADNFCR

Related Articles
First-time buyers hit by new affordability blow
Would-be first-time buyers have been dealt a fresh blow after one of the...

Charity warns tenants to be wise to mortgage woes
Tenants have been advised to stay wise to the fact that they may be...

Average deposit soars to £40k, report shows
Would-be first-time buyers now face the prospect of having to find...

BBA confirms mortgage approvals remain low
The number of new mortgages approved during July represented a near-record...

'Stamp duty cut wouldn't reduce renter numbers'
Even if the government does scrap stamp duty, the majority of prospective...