FTBs 'still suffering from a lack of mortgages'

Date:Monday 15th June 2009
Author: Max Freedman

There is still a lack of mortgage products available that are suitable for first-time buyers (FTBs), it has been claimed.

Commenting on the subject, moneysupermarket.com said that since January 2007, the number of home loans available at 90 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) has fallen by 97 per cent.

According to the price comparison website, there are just over 100 mortgage products available at 90 per cent LTV currently, compared with 3,148 two and a half years ago.

The organisation's Louise Cuming said: "Lenders remain for the most part entirely focused on how large a deposit potential borrowers can provide."

She added that if they were to adopt a "more balanced" approach and place as much significance on affordability and credit profile, they could offer more competitive deals to FTBs with higher LTV ratios.

Earlier this month, the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries claimed that FTBs are being frozen out of the property market due to a lack of available home loans.