First-time buyers 'must make sacrifices for mortgage'

Posted: 01 Oct 2008 13:43:17 GMT

Many first-time buyers will need to make sacrifices in order to secure a mortgage, it has been claimed.

According to FindaProperty, those with serious aspirations about climbing on to the first rung of the property ladder will need to reign in spending on eating out and foreign holidays in order to save enough to secure a homeowner loan.

Michaele O'Flynn, content editor for the property website, warned that it is highly unlikely in the economic environment that first-time buyers will be able to secure a mortgage without a minimum deposit of approximately £17,000 based on current house price averages.

"In the current economic climate where mortgage lenders are tightening their loan criteria, it's highly unlikely that first-time buyers will be able to secure a mortgage without a minimum deposit of ten per cent of a property's value," he explained.

This would appear to be something that new homebuyers are taking on board. Research published this month by the Co-operative Bank suggested that the average first-time buyer feels that they need to save £19,100 in order to make their first property purchase.

It also revealed that just 91 per cent were prepared to make sacrifices buy a property, up massively from 43 per cent last year.

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