FTBs struggling more than ever
April 20, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
It is more difficult for a first-time buyer (FTB) to get onto the property ladder now than it has ever been before.
That is according to housing charity Shelter which has carried out a study into FTBs and found that increasing house prices are leaving them without a chance of making a purchase.
Shelter found that it is nearly twice as hard for an FTB to get onto the property ladder today than it was ten years ago.
This conclusion is based on the gap between how much people earn and the costs of a mortgage, with the gap today being larger than ever.
“These figures show the gulf between those who can afford to buy and those who can’t is widening at an alarming rate,” explained Adam Sampson, chief executive of Shelter.
“For first-time buyers, the housing ladder is becoming a housing tightrope. Buying a home is becoming an ever-more distant dream for first-time buyers and as housing becomes increasingly unaffordable, repossessions are likely to spiral and more families will face the nightmare of homelessness.”
Although the outlook is bleak for the majority of regions in England, Shelter points out that the South East and the East Midlands have shown slight improvements in affordability.
