A new survey finds that first time buyer purchases are at their lowest for almost 30 years.
While the news that first time buyers are being priced out of the market comes at no surprise, new research from the UK’s largest mortgage lender has found that first time property purchases are now at their lowest for almost 30 years.
Only 300,000 first time buyers made their leap onto the property ladder in 2007, a staggering 15,000 fewer than in 2006 and the lowest first timer uptake since 1980 says mortgage lender Halifax.
After conducting a wide scale survey of housing affordability in the UK they found that first time buyers are simply being priced out of the market with properties being unaffordable in 96% of British towns. Their results show that the average ‘first buy’ house price has now risen to £175,093, a figure that is up 15% on 2006 and an astounding 82% on 2002.
This huge elevation in property prices has driven up the average age of first time buyers considerably with the majority waiting until their 30’s to get their foot on the ladder. However, this delay does mean that buyers now have a chance to save up for their first home with the average first timer placing a deposit worth over £25,000 down on their property.
Additionally, the boom in house prices we’ve seen over recent years has also meant a change in the ‘typical’ property first time buyers are able to afford. Gone are the days when a terraced house was the cheapest viable option, now city flats are the property of choice.
Unsurprisingly, the South East was found to be the least affordable area in the UK with Henley-on-Thames topping this list with an average house price of £642,672, a whopping thirteen times the average wage of first time buyers living in the area. Bootle in Merseyside was named as the most affordable town with an average house price of £112,689.
While up until now things have been pretty tough for those wanting to get on the property ladder, if predictions of a cooling market in 2008 are to be believed, this could provide the perfect opportunity for the first timers who have so patiently been biding their time to make their move.
