First-time buyers

First-time buyers in Wales are benefiting from a higher average loan-to-value (LTV) than borrowers in the UK as a whole. That's the findings of new research by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) who also found that lending to first-time buyers in Wales rose by 5% in the first quarter when compared to the same period in 2012.

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While Help to Buy has been stealing headlines recently, the government's previous assistance scheme NewBuy continues to provide help to first-time buyers and one of the latest developments to offer the mortgage scheme is Vermilion in Canning Town.

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If you're looking to get onto the housing ladder in 2013 one major lender is planning to help by paying your stamp duty. Halifax, part of the part taxpayer-owned Lloyds Banking Group, has announced that it will pay stamp duty of up to £2,500 for first-time buyers in an attempt to attract more new homeowners.

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If you have been looking to buy your first home over recent years it has been tough. Access to low-deposit mortgages has been a problem for many first-time buyers meaning that few have been able to save up the necessary deposit to buy.

However, there are signs that this situation is beginning to change. Here, we look at two initiatives which are set to increase the number of first-time buyers entering into the market in 2013.

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A leading mortgage expert believes that the UK mortgage market is set to improve over the next four years with the help of government intervention. David Finlay, managing director of the intermediary channel at Barclays UK Retail and Business Bank, believes that while 2013 will be a good year for mortgages, the real ‘bounce' will happen between 2015 and 2017.

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The Chancellor has used the Budget to announce details of a £5.4billion package to help house buyers who only have a small deposit. The Help to Buy initiative will see the Government lend new home buyers 20% of the value of their property and help underwrite £130billion in 95% mortgages. The loans will be available from April 2013.

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New figures from the Financial Services Authority show that just 2% of mortgages granted in the last quarter of 2012 were to borrowers with a deposit of less than 10%. Despite falling mortgage rates, the Funding for Lending scheme and other government initiatives, access to mortgage finance remains difficult for first-time buyers.

The Prime Minister recently claimed that government schemes were helping people to get onto the property ladder, but the reality is quite different.

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First-time buyers are set to receive a further boost this month after the Prime Minister confirmed that the Budget would provide "vital" help to people looking to get onto the property ladder. In a major speech on the UK economy, David Cameron said that the government was going to provide more support for first-time buyers in the Budget, building on the success of the Funding for Lending scheme.

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Are you a first-time buyer? Are you struggling to get a bank to agree your mortgage? If so, it could be time for you to try an alternative. Building societies grew their share of the mortgage market in 2012 and are increasingly helping first-time buyers get onto the property ladder.

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Barratt Southern is promoting the benefits of buying with the government-backed NewBuy mortgage scheme at the First Time Buyer Home Show being held in Covent Garden, London on Saturday 2nd March. The housebuilder is also giving visitors the chance to see details of three of its most popular and affordable developments around London.

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