'20% fall' in first-time buyer numbers

A combination of fears over interest rate levels followed by uncertainty regarding lenders' own pricing conditions have resulted in the percentage of first-time buyers in the market falling by some 20 per cent since March, moneysupermarket.com has advised.

Coupled with rising house prices, worries over repayments have meant that the number of buyers either moving up the property ladder or out of the owner-occupied sector altogether is now far outranking new entrants to the market, according to the price comparison website.

Fixed-rate mortgages have become increasingly popular over the period, the price comparison website has noted, accounting for 43 per cent of borrowers compared with 39 per cent in March.

"The past month has been fraught with uncertainty and lenders have begun acting independently of the Bank of England in terms of rate pricing," commented Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com.

"The latest industry figures from the CML seem to be painting a similar picture albeit only measuring homeowners, with the percentage of first-time buyers falling six per cent against the total borrowing population for the first half of this year compared to the same period last year," Ms Cuming added.

Earlier this week chancellor Alistair Darling announced plans to encourage more lenders to offer long-term fixed-rate deals.


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