September 6, 2007

The property ladder gets longer

Its getting harder for first time buyers to even get a single foot on the bottom run of the property ladder these days. With buyers in the south of England suffering the most, because it is estimated that they require at least a years earnings in savings to be able to afford the deposit.

In 1996 a first time buyer would have needed just 20 per cent of their annual earnings as the deposit. With the property market growing at the rate that it is, 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2007 alone, this is only going to get harder and harder.

As expected it is London, is the hardest place in the UK to buy a property for an average couple on an average joint income. The dilemma is that the longer they save up to get the deposit, the further away property prices are moving.

Source [Reuters]

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