Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, commented: “First-time-buyers are the lifeblood of the mortgage market and debate on how to ease the troubles they face is much needed.
“As house prices continue to go up and with the increase of existing homeowners buying second homes, more and more young people who want to get on the housing ladder for the first time are finding it extremely difficult to find affordable housing. Increasingly, they are finding other means to help them face these difficulties. Recent research conducted by Alliance & Leicester shows that parents intend to help their children onto the property ladder by giving them an average of £17,677 – more than enough for a deposit on their first home. Furthermore, almost half (46 per cent) of those parents planning to help out believe buying a roof over their children’s heads is still part of their parental duties.
“Lenders are playing their part to help the first-time-buyer’s cause. Alliance & Leicester lends money on an affordability basis which enables buyers to borrow money according to their individual financial circumstances and is not based on rigid income multiples. Since moving to this model last year, the number of first-time-buyers turning to Alliance & Leicester has increased.”
