Taylor Scott International News
Just 12% of UK adults believe access to mortgages has improved in the past five years, but not enough, despite recent moves to open up the mortgage market, new research has found. This is a substantial drop from 29% recorded in similar research commissioned by Precise Mortgages last year. Despite this negative sentiment, the report witnessed improvement in some of the wider issues facing home owners. Over the last year UK renters, in general, see saving for a deposit, finding an affordable property and getting a mortgage approved less of a barrier to owning their own home than in 2014. However, some 49% of UK adults believe that mortgage rates only favour those with large deposits and 36% feel that mortgages are too difficult to obtain for first time buyers. But 76% of renters aged between 18 and 24 regard saving enough for a deposit as a barrier to owning their own home, and 67% say finding an affordable property is a barrier. With the average cost of a property now upward of £200,000and house price inflation set to hit 6% this year, affordability is likely to remain a challenge for first time buyers, the research suggests. Despite an uphill battle some 41% of those renting aged 18 to 24 still hope to own their own home in the next five years. However, amongst the older demographic the situation differs, with only 14% of renters aged 45 to 54 planning to own a property in the next five years, with the majority at 67% having no aspirations to be a home owner. ‘Prospective home buyers are feeling more positive about their ability to save and find an affordable property, but with consumer sentiment towards mortgage accessibility falling in the last year, the industry has a vital job to do in reassuring prospective home owners,’ said Alan Cleary, managing director of Precise Mortgages. ‘The mortgage industry should serve prospective homebuyers, and we must dispel the belief that lenders continue to favour large deposits and are unforgiving of those with blemishes on their credit record,’ he explained. ‘There are specialist lenders in the market ideally placed to help navigate the obstacles potential home buyers face, but there is still more to be done across the wider industry. Ensuring that all viable home owners have access to mortgage products should be the aim of the industry as a whole,’ he added. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
