The CAM and OSM market is a fast growing segment that currently accounts for £22 billion of the UK mortgage market in terms of gross advances and is forecast to double in the next five years. The current state of the housing market with its continuously rising house prices is putting enormous strain on first-time buyers. On average, first-time buyers in the UK now need to borrow almost 4 times their salary as compared with 2.5 ten years ago. In London, the average deposit supplied by a first-time buyer has reached £40,000, over three times that of what it was a decade ago. As a result, proportion of first-time buyers accounting for loans for house purchase has dropped dramatically, from 40% in August 2002 to only 28% in August 2003. ‘’The introduction of family offset mortgages has brought a fresh air to first-time buyers. For those parents who have a certain amount of savings sitting in the bank and who are more than willing to help their offspring to get a rung on the property ladder, this is a good way to do so.’’ comments Karina Purang, Financial Analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report.
