First property buyers 'need large deposit'

23-Jan-2009

Britons looking to take out first-time buyer mortgages will need to have saved up a large deposit, an expert has said.

Hayley Martin, team leader at property finance advisory firm Click n go Mortgages, said people hoping to buy their first property this year will need to have saved a good deposit to take advantage of the current financial climate.

House prices fell by 15.9 per cent in 2008 reaching the lowest level since 2005, according to figures released by Nationwide this month.

This has provided a new opportunity for first-time property buyers to get on to the housing ladder, but according to Ms Martin, high loan-to-value mortgage rates are still causing problems.

"[Mortgage lenders] are not offering anything over 90 per cent for purchase or remortgage and those rates are around seven or eight per cent, so they're still quite high," she said.

A deposit of £15,000 would be needed for a typical home via an estate agent costing £150,000, Ms Martin noted.

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