More action needed to boost first-time buyer mortgages

29-Sep-2009

There should be more done on the part of the government to boost first-time buyer mortgages, it has been suggested.

A new discussion paper launched at the Labour Party conference this week highlighted the potential difficulties facing people trying to buy their first property.

Entitled Mind the Gap – Housing Supply in a Cold Climate, the study was undertaken by the Smith Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Town and Country Planning Association.

It suggested that England's housing shortfall will approach one million by the end of 2010.

Co-author David Pretty of the Smith Institute said: "If we ignore this problem and reduce public intervention … there could be serious social and economic consequences."

He added this would cause "more pain for beleaguered first-time buyers".

Recommendations made in the report include more governmental action to improve mortgage availability, as well as helping house hunters and first-time buyers in particular.

Over 50 per cent of people stepping onto the property ladder seek parental help when it comes to buying a house, according to findaproperty.com.

FirstRungNow.com - how to buy a house, from finding your first flat or first house, first time buyer mortgages, shared ownership, buying with friends, gifted deposit, part buy part rent - all a first time buyer could possibly need.

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