Helping hand for first-time buyers

08-Apr-2008

Housing minister Caroline Flint has announced that the government will offer grants to first-time buyers to help get this group onto the property ladder.

The development came after lenders announced a substantial decrease in house prices, with Halifax recording a 2.5 per cent fall in prices last month.

Ms Flint stated that first-time buyers would be eligible for grants of up to £1,500 to assist with a mortgage, which the government hopes will boost momentum in this are of the market.

However, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has criticised the government's methods of assistance to first-time buyers.

Rics' public policy officer James Rowlands commented: "Shared ownership schemes are not a 'silver bullet' for affordability issues and will only ever be a small part of a wider package of measures.

"The low numbers involved in shared ownership schemes mean their impact on the housing market will be severely limited."

The government has stated that it will build two million new homes by 2016.

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