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Just one in eight would-be first-time buyers can afford average starter home

July 29, 2024July 29, 2024 interestratesinfo

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Only one in eight potential first-time buyers can afford the average starter property in their area, new analysis has revealed.

High house prices, increasing living costs, insufficient savings, rising rents and mortgage rates have all combined to push home ownership out of reach for many young people, according to the study by the owner of Skipton Building Society and analysts at Oxford Economics.

It revealed almost four in every five potential first-time buyers have insufficient savings for the deposit needed to get onto the property ladder in their area.

The challenge is greatest for potential first-time buyer households in the bottom 25 per cent of earners – those earning £22,850 or less a year.

For these first-time buyer households, fewer than one in 100 can afford to take the first step onto the property ladder in their local area.

Rightmove backs Labour efforts to turn renters into first time buyers

July 29, 2024July 29, 2024 interestratesinfo

Rightmove has thrown its weight behind the new Labour government’s bid to help first time buyers – and it wants it to go further.

In a statement over the weekend the portal said it welcomes proposals to help first-time buyers, including Labour’s initiative to give local first-time buyers the first chance to buy homes on developments. Its housebuilding targets and planning reforms should also positively impact those buying for the first time.

Rightmove cautions that its analysis suggests some limitations with a mortgage guarantee scheme, and it is only likely to be able to support a small number of first-time buyers. However, it says making it permanent would also at least give first-time buyers the confidence that it is an option for them.

A new first-time buyer study by the portal reveals that only 37% of homes for sale will be eligible for first-time buyer stamp duty relief in England when the existing thresholds revert from April 2025.

How first-time buyers could save hundreds a year under Freedom to Buy plans

July 22, 2024July 22, 2024 interestratesinfo

First-time buyers could save hundreds of pounds on their mortgage bills under potential changes to the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme, experts have told i.

The party’s election manifesto hinted at further changes to the initiative, which sees the Government act as a guarantor for people unable to save big deposits.

It promised to make the scheme “comprehensive” with “lower mortgage costs” and during the election campaign Labour said it will “will work with lenders” to increase uptake of the scheme – but it did not outline further details.

The party has already committed to making the existing mortgage guarantee scheme into a permanent fixture named Freedom to Buy.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) told i there was potential to expand the scheme so it is compulsory for mortgage lenders, which would lower mortgage rates for first-time buyers with small deposits.