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First time buyers scrabbling for higher deposits
March 26th, 2007
The first rung of the housing ladder is further out of reach, says Moneyextra.com
First time buyers are putting down ever larger deposits. Robin Amlôt of Moneyextra said, "Our analysis1 shows the average mortgage deposit being put down by first time buyers in February 2007 is almost 11 per cent higher than a year ago at an eye-watering £37,632.
"It's no wonder the so-called lower end of the housing market is stalling with young people attempting to get onto the housing ladder being required to save a figure effectively equivalent to more than a year and half's average earnings2"
At the same time, the price pressure on increasingly hard-pressed first time buyers appears to be easing a little - the annual increase in prices for first timers was just 4.68 per cent to £177,096. However, the slowing in the rate at which prices are rising in this sector will also reflect the fact that fewer people are able to afford to buy.
By contrast, average house prices across the whole market rose by 7.38 per cent in the year to February 2007, to £222,923.
The average value of mortgages actually completed by AWD Moneyextra customers in February slipped from the new high set in January of £155,185.78 down to £153,571.68. The most popular mortgage lender in February was Nationwide Building Society3.
For further information, please contact:
Robin Amlôt
Senior Editor, Moneyextra
Tel: 0870 191 5626
public.relations@moneyextra.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Moneyextra.com's Compare and Buy Tool Searches February 2007
| Mortgages | FTB | Moving | Remortgage | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Borrowed | £139,464.00 | £166,270.00 | £114,717.00 | £134,664.00 |
| Average LTV | 78.75% | 62.33% | 49.05% | 60.41% |
| Average Property Value | £177,096.00 | £266,768.00 | £233,856.00 | £222,923.00 |
| Average First Income | £38,638.00 | £46,365.00 | £41,706.00 | £42,722.00 |
| Average Second Income | £20,438.00 | £21,967.00 | £19,789.00 | £20,662.00 |
| % with dual incomes | 36.57% | 58.89% | 56.16% | 49.96% |
1Figures are based on the first 50,000 searches carried out on Moneyextra.com's Mortgage Comparison tool each month.
2 Average annual earnings £23,600 in 2006 (Source: National Statistics)
3 Moneyextra.com's top mortgage lenders
| February 2007 | Jan-Feb 2007 |
|---|---|
| 1. Nationwide BS | 1. Nationwide BS |
| 2. Northern Rock | 2. Woolwich |
| 3. Cheltenham & Gloucester | 3. Northern Rock |
| 3. Mortgage Trust | 4. Cheltenham & Gloucester |
| 5. Halifax | 5. Coventry BS |
| 6. Abbey | 5. Halifax |
| 6. Alliance & Leicester | 5. Mortgage Trust |
| 6. Woolwich | 8. Abbey |
| 9. Coventry BS | 9. Bank of Scotland Mortgages |
| 10. Mortgage Express | 10. Mortgage Express |
Moneyextra.com regularly wins awards - in 2006:
- Winner, Best Use of Technology, National Business Awards Wales/West Country Region
- Highly Commended, Customer Focus, National Business Awards Wales/West Country Region
- Finalist, Best Use of New Media, Financial Sector Technology Awards
- Finalist, Best Financial Advice Site, Online Finance Awards
Moneyextra.com is one of the UK's longest-established personal finance websites. It has 536,000 unique users and delivers 5.5 million page views every month and has 513,000 registered users.
As at 22nd March 2007, Moneyextra.com featured:
- More than 10,000 Mortgages from 126 providers
- 161 Personal Loans from 69 providers
- 205 Credit Cards from 64 providers
- 1,506 Stocks & Shares ISAs from 58 providers
- 173 Cash ISAs from 91 providers
- 123 Current accounts from 36 providers
- 858 Deposit accounts from 149 providers