Latest First Time Buyer News

August 17^th 2009: Three quarters of London's first-time buyers are not sure who qualifies for low cost housing schemes and may be missing the chance to get on the property ladder, according to new research carried out by the Greater London Authority. 75% of first time buyers surveyed believed that the income threshold is 30,000 pounds or less. In fact, if you earn less than 60,000 pounds, you may be eligible for 'shared ownership' or 'rent now, buy later' schemes.

August 12^th 2009: Mortgage lending has increased 23% since this time last year, that is according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. It is the fifth consecutive monthly increase.

September 1^st 2008: The government is to announce plans to give cash grants to UK first time buyers to help relieve the current housing crisis. The money will be brought forward from future housing budgets.

August 29^th 2008: House prices fell by 1.9% in August according to Nationwide. House Prices are now 10.5% less than they were a year ago - that's nearly £20,000 less for the average house, which now stands at £164,654.

July 31^st 2008: The price of a typical house is now £15,000 lower than this time last year. However, house prices are still almost £11,000 higher than three years ago.

June 5^th 2008: A new incentive for first time buyers: a bike! House builders are giving away fold-up bikes designed by Wayne Hemingway when you buy one of their properties. Each bike costs just £58, although you cannot buy the bike direct from Hemingway Design. What will they think of next?

May 29^th 2008: House prices fell by 2.5% in May, according to the Nationwide index. Prices are 4.4% lower than this time last year, but remain 5% higher than 2 years ago. The average house price is now £173,583.

May 26^th 2008: Houses sales are likely to hit their lowest level for 30 years. This is due to buyers waiting for prices to fall further. This is supported by a recent poll by the BBC, which indicates that more people want house prices to fall than rise. Even so, nearly half of people surveyed would like house prices to stay the same.

First Time Buyer News Archive