Southern first time buyers 'struggling the most'

05-Sep-2007

First time buyers in the south of England are still finding things more difficult than those in the north when it comes to buying a home, a new study from Abbey has found.

While such findings may seem self-evident given the higher house prices in the south of the country, the study has revealed that the gap between the two regions is now at its largest ever level.

Borrowers in the south are currently taking out 31 per cent more than their northern counterparts, the research shows.

However, despite such trends the number of first time buyers has doubled in the south of the country over the past five years, while numbers have fallen in the north.

"It's extremely interesting to see that, even though the housing ladder price difference between the north and south is now more of a gulf than a gap, it has done little to upset the demand for first homes in the south," commented Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, head of mortgages at Abbey.

"Perhaps it shows that people in the south want to buy now – expecting prices to continue rising at a rapid rate, whereas buyers in the north feel they have less to gain in jumping on the property ladder," Ms Audhlam-Gardiner added.

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