CML confirms first time buyer problems

15-Aug-2007

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has supported data released yesterday by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) by saying that its own figures also reveal a fall in first time buyer numbers.

This week Rics revealed that first time buyer enquiries were at a three year low in July, and CML figures for June have now shown that the number of home loans taken by first time buyers dropped from 39,800 to 35,600.

However, this figure is up fractionally on May's 34,600 loans, and with inflation now below the Bank of England's two per cent goal, borrowers may once again be encouraged to look towards property ownership.

"What we now need to see from the government is some action - we need to see some proactive steps aimed at helping this group of struggling want-to-be homeowners onto the property ladder," commented David Bexon, managing director of SmartNewHomes.com.

The CML also announced that 90 per cent of first time buyers opted for a fixed-rate product in June – the highest percentage on record.

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