http://www.firsthousepage.com/ First Time Buyer resources including guides, tips, tools, calculators and more. Copyright 2008, Tim Ballard, all rights reserved. en donate@firsthousepage.com Tue, 06 May 2008 21:05:00 00:00 http://www.firsthousepage.com In the past week, Halifax has confirmed that house prices are falling annually and Nationwide have introduced a special offer for first time buyers, which includes a £300 discount on the reservation fee, £100 discount on legal fees and no higher lending charges. This offer is available up to 95% loan to value. http://www.firsthousepage.com Good news for first time buyers - House prices fell by 1% annually for the first time in ten years. However, when you consider that house prices are still 200% more expensive than 10 years ago, house prices still have much further to fall to correct the over-inflated housing market and enable healthier numbers of first time buyers to return. http://www.firsthousepage.com An interest rate hike looks likely amid raising inflation due to increasing food and petrol prices. This is a double blow for first time buyers. Firstly, increasing living costs stifle a first time buyer's chances of raising a sufficient deposit. Secondly, an increase in the base rate will trigger further rises in lenders' mortgage rates. http://www.firsthousepage.com Check out our new article: 101 Tips to Save a Deposit for a House. By learning how to save money, you will be making money. http://www.firsthousepage.com Our new article on Home Information Packs (HIPs) explains why they are such great news for first time buyers. By June 2008, every house for sale will need a HIP. http://www.firsthousepage.com First Time Buyers pay 200% more for a house than they did 10 years ago. The annual Roof Affordability Index shows that the average amount paid by a first time buyer is 159,494 pound, which is up from 52,674 pound a decade ago. In addition, the house price / income ratio has increased from 1.72 to 3.4. What this means is that it is now 78% more difficult for someone to buy their first house. http://www.firsthousepage.com House Prices are falling at their fastest rate since records began in 1978, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This comes as Gordon Brown is meeting the Bosses of Britain's largest lenders this morning to discuss the global economy. http://www.firsthousepage.com Our new directory for first time buyers will give you access to hundreds of online resources from estate agents to surveyors and housing associations. You can access our new First Time Buyer Directory from the FirstHousePage.com homepage. http://www.firsthousepage.com By registering for our free newsletter, you will be able to download our brand new Complete First Time Buyer Guide, which contains every article on our website. http://www.firsthousepage.com As well as today's cut in interest rates, the government has announced extra help for first time buyers under the Open Market Homebuy scheme - This is the scheme that applies to key workers. However, the assistance is only 1,500 pound to help with costs such as legal fees and the Liberal Democrats dismissed it as "tokenism of the worst kind." http://www.firsthousepage.com (Reuters) Following a recent survey on lenders by The Bank of England, interest rates may be cut as soon as next week. Lenders are growing increasingly nervous over the economic outlook. http://www.firsthousepage.com You will find our new "Add your comments" feature at the bottom of every article. We are giving you the opportunity to give your own thoughts on any aspect of buying your first house. So go on, tell us what you think! http://www.firsthousepage.com April 2nd: (REUTERS) House prices fell for the 5th consecutive month in March, according to Nationwide (Britain's second largest lender). This is likely to deliver another hit to the economy and it shows that the UK is following the US as it slips into recession. Meanwhile, lenders are competing not to lend their money by raising their rates - another blow against first time buyers. http://www.firsthousepage.com Over the next few days you may start to notice humorous cartoons appearing on the website. That's because we are different from other property websites, we like to think we are more fun! http://www.firsthousepage.com Who are you going to tell that you are moving? Everyone? Our new "Have I told you that I'm moving?" checklist gives you a list of everyone that you need to contact and makes it easy to check them off. http://www.firsthousepage.com The house on FirstHousePage.com has changed - it has less advertisements, which means more room for great content aimed at first time buyers. Old first time buyer news is now accessible from the news archive on our homepage. http://www.firsthousepage.com (PRWEB) Nearly half of Britons (44%) would be willing to move abroad in order to get their foot on the property ladder, new research from fairinvestment.co.uk has revealed - that's nearly twice as many people when compared to last year. http://www.firsthousepage.com First time buyers now have to find larger deposits as lenders withdraw the best mortgage deals. Lenders are worried about taking on risk during what could be the start of a recession. Some deals offered by big banks require a 40% deposit - that is a deposit of over 80,000 pounds on the average house. http://www.firsthousepage.com New: FirstHousePage.com now reports on news affecting first time buyers. See our homepage. http://www.firsthousepage.com New: Our budget calculator can tell you how much spare cash you have each month and where you spend most of your money. It forms a great combination when used with our monthly repayment calculator to find out if your mortgage repayments will be affordable. Our new stamp duty guide could save you thousands of pounds on your first house! http://www.firsthousepage.com Every web page on FirstHousePage.com is now valid XHTML 1.1. That means we have taken the care to create an interoperable website that is accessible to the widest range of users, regardless of any disabilities they may have. http://www.firsthousepage.com New: Our new mortgage repayment spreadsheet will give you a detailed analysis of your monthly repayments including the affect of inflation and how much interest and capital will be paid off each year. Updated: Mortgages for First Time Buyers. http://www.firsthousepage.com New guide: conveyancing for first time buyers - a look at hiring a solicitor. http://www.firsthousepage.com New glossary for first time buyers - housing jargon explained. Also, a revised layout on the homepage makes navigation easier on FirstHousePage.com. http://www.firsthousepage.com New mortgage repayment calculator now available - work out your monthly repayments by entering your mortgage amount and the interest rate. http://www.firsthousepage.com There is a new guide on mortgages that explains the three main types of mortgage - fixed, variable and interest only. In development: an online game based on 'Breakout' in which players can relax by blasting house bricks! http://www.firsthousepage.com How Much Can I Afford? - Updated. Within the next 24 hours - a new guide will be published on the various government initiatives such as shared ownership and key worker housing, which have been specifically designed to help first time buyers. http://www.firsthousepage.com I have created this RSS feed for first time buyers to keep you informed of the latest updates on FirstHousePage.com. http://www.firsthousepage.com Found a guide on First House Page.com that you like? You can now share it with a friend. Also, there is a new guide on House Surveys.