One-bed homes at a premium for first time buyers

12-Jun-2007

First time buyers looking to move into a property on their own have been hit by the news that one-bedroom properties make up just 3.1 per cent of the current housing supply.

Research from Hometrack has found that fewer than 800,000 one-bedroom dwellings are currently available in England and Wales, with family homes making up the majority of properties.

Over two thirds of all properties available have three or more bedrooms, the research indicates, with almost half having exactly three.

"Policy makers are clearly faced with some major challenges. The debate over increasing housing supply tends to be focused on the headline numbers with little emphasis on the types of housing that are needed," commented Hometrack's Richard Donnell.

Mr Donnell added that just one in ten properties built last year featured just the one bedroom.

Research published yesterday by the Department for Local Communities and Government found that the average house price for a first time buyer in April stood at £159,977.

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