10
Jul
"Almost impossible" for low-income couples to buy property
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found that
a low-earning young couple on £27,516 would need to save their
entire combined yearly salary to meet the up-front costs of buying
a home.
In 1996, those in the lower quartile earnings bracket would have
only needed to spend 21 per cent of their annual wages on
purchasing a property.
The organisation suggested that this decline in affordability has
been fuelled by the reductions in loan-to-value rations mortgage
lenders are offering, in addition to the "continued burden of stamp
duty".
On a more positive note, it also found that low-income couples who
do manage to get onto the property ladder will now spend less of
their earnings on servicing their mortgage.
"Access to the housing market has deteriorated as the credit crunch
has taken hold of the mortgage lender sector," RICS senior
economist David Stubbs commented.
Although low earning couples looking to buy their first home may
struggle, the National Association of Estate Agents recently
suggested that buyers are in a strong position because of falling
house prices.
