First-time buyer mortgages restricted by "expensive" property

Date:Wednesday 7th October 2009
Author: Max Freedman

First-time buyer mortgages are not being approved because property is not affordable enough, says an industry insider.

Firstrung chief executive Paul Holmes pointed out that the average UK property price according to figures released by Nationwide last month is £160,000.

He claimed that a couple will need to be earning £60,000 between the two of them or if it is a single person then they would need to have a salary of about £50,000 to get on the property ladder.

Mr Holmes explained: "The majority of first-time buyers I come across, if it's a couple, have said that they're earning somewhere in the region of £45,000 between them. So, property is still expensive."

The Nationwide House Price Index for September showed an increase of 0.9 per cent compared to August and it was the first month of this year when there was not a year-on-year decline.

House prices in September are recorded as being at the same level as in September last year.