Entering mortgage market 'difficult for first-time buyers'

Date:Monday 21st December 2009
Author: Susanna Kavka

First-time buyers still face difficulties securing a mortgage, according to one industry expert.

Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, said that, for first-time buyers, there are "still have very significant constraints on their ability to enter the market and that is because it is very difficult for them to accumulate the deposit to work within existing loan-to-value ratios".

As a result, he added that it was no surprise that people looking to take their first steps onto the property ladder were making up a small proportion of the market and believes it will remain this way for some time.

The end of the stamp duty holiday is unlikely to create a significant change in the market, with Mr Cook added that it is "easy to overstate" the significance of the stamp duty cost, especially when the amount is considered next to the cash that has to be found to secure a deposit in the first place.

The National Association of Estate Agents reported that just 19 per cent of registered house purchases in November were made by first-time buyers.