25
Aug
'Individual circumstances' must influence FTBs
People need to make decisions as to whether to enter the property
market based on their own circumstances, one property expert has
asserted.
Bernard Clarke, a spokesperson for the Council of Mortgage Lenders,
whose members account for around 98 per cent of UK residential
mortgage lending, said that the decrease in house prices is likely
to encourage more first-time buyers to buy a property as they will
be attracted by the lower costs involved.
His comments follow the release of the Rightmove house price index,
which show that average asking prices fell by 2.2 per cent as
summer sellers continued to price more realistically.
House buyers will still be constrained by difficulties in getting a
mortgage and coming up with a deposit despite decreases in house
prices, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The news comes after the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported
earlier this month that gross mortgage lending totalled an
estimated £16 billion in July, a 26 per cent increase from
£12.7 billion in June but down 36 per cent from £24.9
billion in July 2008.
