The lender said the move will support the London and South housing markets where first-time buyers with good jobs and deposits struggle to meet lenders’ affordability criteria.
Skipton Building Society has done away with its £500,000 loan cap for first-time buyers.
The lender said the move will support the London and South housing markets where first-time buyers with good jobs and deposits struggle to meet lenders’ affordability criteria.
The average sold price of a London flat in 2015 was £545,000.
Kris Brewster, Skipton’s head of products, said: “This is yet another move we have made following listening to customer and broker feedback, and us updating our criteria accordingly.
“At Skipton we’re proud to support real life lending needs – be it making it even easier for our broker partners to get in touch via webchat, through to winning multiple awards and accolades for our mortgage offering.
“It’s important that we continually review our lending criteria, as we all know how fast the UK mortgage market changes.
“People who have good jobs, earning very healthy salaries, and have saved up large deposits, are still being priced out of the south and London markets. This move will enable more first time buyers to move away from renting, and to get the keys to their first home.”
UK house prices increased by 20% between 2011 and 2015, a far cry from a 53% increase in London over the same period.
