2
Jan
First time buyers 'to benefit from house price falls'
First time buyers are well poised to take advantage of any dips in
house prices next year, it has been claimed.
According to data from Halifax, the number of first time buyers
entering the UK property market fell to 300,000 last year.
This was the lowest level in 27 years and is 44 per cent lower than
the number taking the plunge in 2002.
However, with analysts predicting a dip in house prices soon, first
time buyers who have been struggling with affordability and raising
large deposits could be poised to capitalise, Simon Rubinson, chief
economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics)
said.
He commented: "While first-time buyers continue to struggle to
access the housing market, the conditions should start to gradually
thaw throughout 2008.
"[There] is huge pent up demand from first time buyers and should
house prices drop in the early part of the year, many will be ready
to pounce."
News of Mr Rubinson's projections come after a survey published
last month by the Building Societies Association showed that
raising a deposit remains the largest barrier to home ownership
faced by first time buyers.
