15
Apr
Lending boost tipped to help first-time buyers
First-time buyers will find it easier to get on the housing ladder
now that 90 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages are returning,
it has been suggested.
The managing director of first-time buyer services firm
FirstRungNow.com, Helen Adams, commented that the move by HSBC to
set aside £1 billion on such high LTV deals for first-time
buyers represents a "positive" move.
She added: "Not long ago first-time buyers were having to come up
with between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of the deposit, which was
unrealistic."
Ms Adams stated that HSBC is likely to have made the move in the
expectation that others will follow suit.
First-time buyers may also have been encouraged by recent
improvements in affordability.
The Financial Times house price index for March - which was
published yesterday - showed that the average home had dropped in
value by 0.9 per cent since February, the 13th successive monthly
fall.
