First-time buyers ‘feeling financial squeeze’
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have shown that would-be first-time buyers in the UK are facing a financial struggle to get on the property ladder.
As debt management problems increase around the country, the number of people able to afford a mortgage for the first time has fallen by almost 4,000 over the 12 month period from June 2006.
Furthermore, the number of first-time buyers who took out a mortgage during June of this year was the lowest for the month since 2004, according to the latest data from the CML.
A statement from the council read: “Five interest rate rises since August 2006 are continuing to affect the market, with affordability measures edging upwards.”
“The proportion of income first-time buyers use to pay mortgage interest has also increased – from 19.1 per cent in May to 19.3 per cent in June. This is up from 16.5 per cent in June last year.”
Earlier this year, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service predicted that homeowners around the UK would be “on the rack” financially throughout 2007.
