First-time buyers 'must save for longer'

Posted: 15 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT

A shortage of suitable mortgages is making it "increasingly difficult" for first-time buyers, says new research.

iammoving.com, a site aimed at those moving house, said that tighter lending criteria had forced many potential first-time buyers to live with their parents for longer.

Many mortgage lenders now ask for a deposit of at least 20 per cent.

The site's partnership relationship manager Jon Brown said: "Desire for ownership will build into demand for ownership and eventually force government, developers and particularly lenders into more achievable actions."

While the average value of properties bought by those with experience of the market has fallen, prices rose in May for first-time buyers, the site reports.

Mr Brown's comments follow research released by the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) which showed that nine out of ten 18 to 34 year-olds could not afford to purchase the average first-time buyer property.

NHPAU states that this will mean that more than six million young people cannot afford to buy their own home.

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