More and more people between the ages of 20 and 34 are still living with their parents, according to data from the HBF.
33% of men and 20% of women are not rushing to leave the family home as the average age for first time buyers without financial assistance reaches 37. Many of these cannot obtain anIT contractor mortgage due to the high deposit requirements laid down by mortgage lenders.
In June, Grant Shapps, the housing minister, said that the government would help first time buyers to enter the housing market. The HBF is now asking the coalition to stick to its word and not remove funding for the HomeBuy Direct scheme when the Comprehensive Spending Review is undertaken next month.
HomeBuy Direct is a government sponsored, equity loan scheme. The purchaser buys at least 70% of the house price and the balance is funded equally by the house builder and the Homes and Communities Agency. 10,000 people have already benefited from this scheme in the last 2 years, according to the HBF.
It’s not only first time buyers who are having problems purchasing property. The buy to let market is also suffering with only 28% of landlords looking to buy more investment property in the near future. The lack of finance for both new purchases and remortgages are cited as the primary reasons why residential landlords are now sitting tight.
Meanwhile news that the value of housing stock in the UK has more than doubled over the past 10 years is causing experts to speculate whether we might see more older people [55 years and above] taking advantage of lifetime mortgage equity release schemes to boost their income.
Equity release schemes are becoming an increasingly popular way to repay existing mortgages, consolidate debt and supplement low pensions.
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