First-time buyers rise 13% in February

by Aaron Strutt

Apr 15 2011

The number of first-time buyers getting on the property ladder increased 13% in February, but the figures remain down on last year.

According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), new homeowners borrowed 12,400 loans worth £1.4 bn in February, which is 13% more than January, but still down 13% from February 2010.

First-time buyers typically borrowed 80% of the property value in February and 3.11 times their income. The average loan-to-value taken out by home-movers is 70% and has remained at a similar level since mid-2009.

Aaron Strutt, a broker at Trinity Financial, says: "For borrowers with a 20% deposit there are a lot of mortgages available and they are now very competitively priced. Most lenders stop offering lower rates for borrowers with less than a 15% deposit."

April 15, 2011