Buyers reigning in luxuries, necessities

07-Dec-2007

First time buyers are avoiding spending money not only on luxuries but also essentials in their quest to buy a property, a new study has found.

The Notting Hill Home Ownership (NHHO) housing association has conducted a study which finds that two thirds of those looking for a home would be prepared to cut down on socialising in order to save for a deposit, with one in three also saying they would sacrifice holidays.

But others said that they were in favour of cutting back on food bills, buying clothes and even exercise pursuits in favour of saving up cash.

Other more lighthearted suggestions – or possibly not – included "my husband" and "a kidney", the study added.

Yet despite these desperate measures, just 22 per cent of buyers thought that they would still be without a home come 2012.

"Even if house prices do continue to level off as they are today, the chasm between average savings and house prices shows no immediate signs of being bridged," said NHHO director of marketing Mark Vaughan.

"This means that for the majority of UK home seekers full property ownership is becoming an increasingly unattainable goal, regardless of the lifestyle concessions they are willing to undertake," Mr Vaughan continued.

Mr Vaughan added that shared ownership had become a valuable solution to the home ownership conundrum in recent years rather than simply a niche product for less well-off buyers.


'Variety of options' still open to FTBs.



Extreme measures 'not necessary' for buyers

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