First-time buyers ‘kept out of the market’

Mortgage lenders are preventing first-time buyers from entering the market by reducing the number of affordable deals, one comparison site has suggested.

Research by moneysupermarket.com has revealed that the amount of 90 per cent LTV mortgages is 97 per cent lower than in January 2007.

Head of mortgages at the site Louise Cuming remarked: “By pulling 90 per cent LTV deals off the shelf and increasing rates on the remaining deals, providers are keeping first-time buyers out of the market, which simply exacerbates market stagnation.”

Lenders should consider a more long-term view and approve borrowers who can demonstrate they are able to make timely payments, she added.

According to the statistics, 102 products are currently available at 90 per cent LTV compared to over three thousand two years ago.

This follows a recent statement by debt charity the Homeowners Advice Centre that the government is powerless to help struggling homeowners as providers refuse to pass on interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.

By Francis Finch