'Good mortgage news on the horizon' for first-time buyers

Date:Friday 7th May 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

First-time buyers may be in for some positive news with regards to mortgages, if one industry expert is to be believed.

Ben Wilkie, editor at What Mortgage, highlighted two major contributing factors that could stand such mortgage applicants in good stead during 2010.

Firstly, he stated that loan-to-value rates are increasing, which means that people are needing to save up slightly less before they can think about purchasing a house.

And secondly, first-time buyers will not need to pay stamp duty on a house up to the value of £250,000, a factor that could save them thousands of pounds.

Mr Wilkie's remarks follow research by Paragon Mortgages, which indicated that mortgage brokers expect to see business increase by 6.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year compared to the first three months.

He added: "Speaking anecdotally to mortgage brokers, they are seeing business improving over the months and they are fairly confident about the rest of the year."