FTBs 'will still find it hard to get a mortgage'

First-time buyers looking for cheap mortgages have been warned that lending conditions are likely to remain constrained for the next couple of years.

Andy Pratt, chief operating officer at Alexander Hall, suggested that while conditions are easing slightly for first time buyers, it will still be some time before lenders will be prepared to accept the small deposits seen prior to the recession.

"You get the slight drop in what people need for a deposit, but then only when the high street banks start to really open up above 90 per cent [loan-to-value] lending, will it make a big impact," he said.

However, he said that the difficulty in finding cheap mortgages has gone some way towards helping new buyers save more money for their deposit in the meantime.

His comments follow findings from Defaqto which revealed that over 9,000 mortgages have been introduced or updated since April 1st, with only 600 products removed.

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2011-07-20 13:00:29 © Moneyextra.com