First time home buyer news: First-time buyer confidence increases

05-Jun-2006

Confidence in mortgage borrowing has more than doubled since the start of the year, while the proportion of aspiring homeowners has increased by a third, research has revealed.

The number of people aspiring to own their own home or move house by the end of the year has increased to 15 per cent from just seven per cent in January, according to data from Alliance and Leicester.

First-time buyers accounted for 38 per cent of new mortgages in the three months January to March, with growth seen in the number of aspiring homeowners – those planning to get onto the first rung - up from 12 per cent to 16 per cent.

Chris Rhodes, managing director of Alliance and Leicester Retail Banking, said: "It's particularly pleasing to see the increased confidence amongst the under 30s.

"Increased first-time buyer activity enables others to move up the ladder. Affordability remains good, which means that despite renewed mortgage borrowing, consumers are taking a responsible attitude."

The findings come as Direct Line reveals that first-time buyers face choices over fixed-rate or tracker-rate mortgages, with tracker mortgages currently offering better deals but less certainty to aspiring homeowners.

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