Increasing mortgage availability 'will help first-time buyers'

Posted: 10 Mar 2010 09:31:14 GMT

As a greater number of mortgage products come on to the market, first-time buyers will find it easier to get on to the property ladder, it has been suggested.

Ben Wilkie, editor of What Mortgage, says that as confidence in the state of the housing sector increases, more 95 per cent loan-to-value deals will become available.

"It really should help first-time buyers, because even to get a ten per cent deposit is hard enough and to get any higher than that is outrageous for many people," he states.

Mr Wilkie's comments follow new figures from Moneyfacts, which show that the availability of home loan products requiring a low deposit has almost doubled compared to last March.

However, 57 per cent of mortgages that are currently on the market require at least a 25 per cent deposit, in comparison to the situation in August 2007, when just 16 per cent was required.

But Mr Wilkie adds that he feels the recent rise in home loan products can only be a good thing for first-time buyers, as mortgage companies will have to become more flexible in their lending in order to attract customers.

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