The increased prominence of this higher level LTV scheme has also helped more first-time buyers to access the market without financial support from family members. This is certainly a welcome trend. However, it is important to emphasise that while recent CML figures show 48 per cent of new buyer purchases to be “unassisted” – a marked rise from 34 per cent in 2011 – the importance of financial support from parents and/or grandparents for many FTBs should not be underestimated when it comes to raising a sufficient deposit. And facilitating this additional financial backing appears to be an area in which more and more lenders are looking to bolster their propositions.
Innovation can exist within the current environment and within regulatory boundaries. There are lenders who are willing to push these lending confines to better support FTBs. FTB-specific products remain available to help borrowers in the raising of deposits as well as helping them adjust to their new financial responsibilities as homeowners over the terms of their loans.
As ever, more needs to be done to assist this vital cog in the housing wheel. The fact remains that the UK has not been building enough new houses for some time, and tackling this issue needs to be high on the new government’s agenda. However, this is certainly not a conundrum with any quick fix. It requires an appropriate and impactful long-term plan, and someone pushing it at the highest level to make any great impact. Let us hope that this government can find the right answers and work closely with home-builders, lenders and the mortgage market in general to help make this happen.
Andy Gray is managing director of mortgages at Barclays
Key points
The plight of first-time buyers remains an issue which will continue to come under scrutiny.
Anecdotal comments suggest that the election result was a bullish outcome for the London property market.
The increased prominence of a higher level LTV scheme has also helped more first-time buyers to access the market without financial support from family members.
