17
Jun
Access to mortgage 'easier for first-time buyers'
More first-time buyers may be able to join the property ladder as
access to mortgages has improved, it has been suggested.
Ray Boulger, a senior technical manager at independent mortgage
adviser John Charcol, stated that although conditions in the
property market remain difficult, the last few months have been a
good time for first-time buyers trying to get a mortgage.
He said: "It is getting slightly easier [because] … we have
seen an improvement in the availability of higher loan-to-value
mortgages and also the pricing of them."
Mr Boulger's comments come despite the Council of Mortgage Lenders'
(CML) recently released figures which indicated that loans to
first-time buyers accounted for just 35 per cent of all house
purchase mortgages in April 2010.
It also revealed that while the number of loans for house purchases
had decreased by nine per cent from 45,000 in March to 40,000 in
April, it had increased by 15 per cent from 35,000 last
April.
