Selling first homes 'as difficult as joining property ladder'

Posted: 31 Jan 2011 08:58:15 GMT

Current market conditions may mean selling a first home is equally as difficult as getting a foot on the property ladder.

Britons selling their first home may be finding the move as challenging as reaching the first rung of the property ladder, because a new report suggests mortgages and property prices are conspiring to hinder 'second steppers'.

Lloyds TSB claims the mix of "purchasing homes at the peak of property prices" and a weak real estate market "means many are finding it just as tough to move up the ladder as it was to get on it".

Almost 20 per cent of those hoping to sell their house lack the equity to buy a new residence, with both first-time buyer and second-step transactions falling.

The majority (84 per cent) of people seeking to buy a new home expect to sell their current abode to new entrants in the property market, but difficulty securing a mortgage may mean there is a lack of people able to do this.

On Wednesday (January 26th), the British Bankers' Association revealed the total number of house purchase approvals in 2010 was just under 400,000, a ten per cent reduction year-on-year.
 

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