Are Zero Deposit Mortgages A Thing Of The Past?
As the UK Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) continues to hit the market with ever more downbeat news on the mortgage front, it seems that first time buyers have been hit the hardest. The CML has announced that on average first time buyers are now being asked to put down 13% of the purchase price of a property as a deposit, but in this current economic environment there are few people are in a position to do this.
Often seen as the higher risk of mortgage market customers, first time buyers will often have no capital or assets behind them other than their new home, as oppose to those moving home who often have equity left over from their previous property. However, first time buyers are the life blood of the UK property market and help to keep the chain of buyers moving along. If the expected sharp fall in first time buyers continues for a prolonged period, this will put the property markets of the UK under serious pressure.
Interestingly we are also seeing a substantial increase in the number of fixed rate mortgage approvals, even though the banks seem to have been increasing the cost of these at a time when interest rates have remained steady.
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