Nationwide reports worrying lack of first-time buyers

House price index shows slight rise over January

February 1, 2013

The number of first-time buyers per month is still less than two thirds of the peak figure from 2007.  Nationwide Building Society said that  there was “concern” that first-time buyers were still struggling to get onto the housing ladder. The number of first-time buyers in the UK in January stood at just 20,000 according to the lender, compared to 32,000 per month at the peak of the housing boom. In Novermber 2012 the HomeOwners Alliance revealed in its report Death of a Dream that home ownership had slumped to the lowest level since 1988 and that it was first time-buyers who had been hit hardest by restrictions on credit and high prices.

Shelter, the housing charity, has shown that average rents rose by £300 in 2012. Spiraling rents are trapping young families, preventing them from ever raising the capital for a deposit on even the most affordable homes. “Rising rents are leaving people with little or nothing to save at the end of each month, giving them little chance of ever saving enough to climb on to the property ladder,” said the charity’s chief executive, Campbell Robb.

To find out more about how you can get on the housing ladder check out our free guides Mortgages made simple, and What help can I get from the government?