65% of first-time buyers feel it is ‘impossible’ to get on the property ladder, while 62% have opted to save for another year or more
A new survey of 2,000 first time buyers in the UK has shown that 76% feel worried, confused and angered at how Covid-19 has affected their home ownership aspirations.
The best UK mortgage deals have disappeared from the market in recent past.
Now 65% of first-time buyers feel it is ‘impossible’ to get on the property ladder and more than half (62%) have opted to save for another year or more.
The study by online mortgage broker Trussle has found over half take more than five years to save enough for a deposit, with 72% of first-time buyers in a position to look for a home within the next two years and 44% of respondents feeling confused by the constantly changing deposit requirements and lender criteria.
To help first time buyers understand deposit requirements, Trussle has created a regional deposit map that can be used to see what options may be available with the average deposit needed in Coventry being £37,000.
Miles Robinson, Head of Mortgages at Trussle comments: While it’s encouraging to see the property market remaining open for business with viewings and valuations remaining in place during the second lockdown, it’s disappointing that first time buyers are struggling to navigate the market.
One option for first time buyers is to adapt expectations when it comes to location, exploring more affordable areas and seeing the working from home option as a long-term alternative. However, the onus cannot continue to sit purely on the first-time buyer and their transactional power cannot remain untapped as we head into an uncertain 2021, Robinson said.
Robinson said, the financial impact of the pandemic has meant that lenders are pulling a number of high LTV mortgages. As of this week, there are only 74 mortgage deals available for mortgage applicants with a LTV over 90%. By comparison, this time last year there were over 2,000.