Mortgages 'difficult to get hold of'

Date:Tuesday 5th January 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

First-time buyers are still finding it difficult to get a mortgage that will help them onto the property ladder, according to one expert.

Helen Adams, managing director of FirstRungNow, said that although mortgages have become more affordable, they are still difficult to obtain.

As a result, the number of first-time buyers is not increasing, as many still need to save up for a big deposit, or find help from another source, such as their parents.

Ms Adams added that, despite the low rates currently being seen on mortgage deals, "it is very difficult to buy a house in your own right at the moment".

She continued that she believes stamp duty should be abolished for first-time buyers, as it is an additional expense to obtaining a property, on top of saving up to pay for the deposit.

These comments follow the news from Halifax that the average price for a property bought by someone new to the market was affordable to someone with average earnings in 39 per cent of local authority districts during 2009.