Of the total sample 94 per cent of respondents thought the government should do more to help people out of the rental living and 42 per cent felt that mortgage lenders were not recognising their needs.
A frustrated 81 per cent said they would prefer to be homeowners and the same number answered that they simply couldn’t afford to buy a place of their own. When asked if they thought it would be easier or harder to buy in six months’ time 91 per cent thought it would be harder or the same showing that few agree with Melvyn King’s predictions on a significant decrease in entry-level house prices.
Helen Adams, director of FirstRungNow Ltd, commented: “As an increasing proportion of one and two-bedroom properties are now owned by buy-to-let landlords, stock available for purchase by first-time buyers is decreasing and property prices have risen. Rather than increasing interest rates which penalises all property owners with mortgages some way of discouraging the landlords who purchase these types of properties should be devised – perhaps by some form of tax. The situation as it is now means that joint ownership is one of the few credible options available for many.”
Comprehensive information about joint ownership as a way to help clients onto the property ladder is available at www.FirstRungNow.com.
