4
Jun
Dipping prices 'good for younger buyers'
Falling house prices should help more people get a foot on the
property ladder, according to a new report.
Property analysts at Hometrack say if predictions that prices will
slump a further ten per cent are true, it could give a fifth of
young working households unable to currently afford a property a
good chance of buying.
Figures from the firm suggest 28 per cent of young Britons are
currently priced out of the market, especially in London and the
south-west.
However professor Steve Wilcox of York University, who carried out
the market analysis, warns mortgage shortages will continue to be a
barrier to first-time buyers.
He tells the BBC: "While house prices are falling, access to the
property market is being increasingly limited by the costs and more
restrictive terms of a substantially reduced supply of mortgage
finance."
A recent study by Nationwide revealed houses are still five per
cent more expensive than they were two years ago.