Mortgage club calls for building boost

The government needs to commit to higher levels of housebuilding in order to let more people onto the housing ladder, the director of an adviser-facing mortgage club has said.

Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said it was evident from various house price indices and trade body figures that demand was still outstripping supply across the UK.

Mr Duncombe said: “This is pushing many prospective buyers out of the market. In order to subvert this trend we need to build at least 250,000 more homes a year and bring supply in line with demand.”

Adviser view

Mark Harris, chief executive of London-based SPF Private Clients, said the availability of good mortgage products was helping first-time buyers. He said: “The number of first-time buyers continues to grow, as they take advantage of the plethora of high loan-to-value deals available.

“Falls in product pricing means that first-time buyers are not overstretching themselves as they are paying a record low proportion of their monthly household income to service their mortgages.”