22
Jan
Save hard, first-time buyers advised
Those trying to get on the housing ladder should save "furiously"
for a deposit over the next 12 months, the head of a first-time
buyer services firm has advised.
Chief executive of Firstrung Paul Holmes said that at present such
buyers are unable to purchase homes unless they are first able to
raise an 18 per cent deposit.
"Our advice is to save up furiously while the market finally finds
a natural level, which will happen over the next 12 months," he
concluded.
Those hoping for increased affordability may have been encouraged
by recent price trends.
Figures from Nationwide at the end of December showed that during
2008 the average UK house price fell by 15.9 per cent.
This saw the mean figure drop from £182,080 to
£153,048.
