First time buyers still confident

Property website SmartNewHomes.com has reported that first time buyers are preparing to enter the new homes market with confidence.

They recently surveyed over 200 first-time buyers, only 13% of respondents said they were put off buying a home due to the current financial climate and just 8% believed they would have to pay more than £200,000 for their first home.

The first time buyer survey results also suggested the prospect of buying alone is not preventing buyers from looking to make their first home purchase - 46% of those looking for a home were single, compared to 33% looking to buy with a partner.

We have seen a drop in first time buyer mortgages over the last 6 months. Not only are mortgage interest rates higher but larger deposits are now needed. 100% mortgages are no longer available as the problems in the mortgage market continue to affect the deals offered by mortgage lenders. A lot of would be first time buyers will look to rent while they wait out the storm in the housing market. Many will either want to leave home or move in with partners or friends giving a boost to the buy to let rental market.

However, we have seen progress in the rental market with our buy to let landlords stating that tenant demand is good with small improvements to the rental income achieved.