Nationwide launches independent guide for forlorn FTBs

As if they needed further confirmation, first time buyers have never had it so bad. Figures from Nationwide and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) demonstrate that first time buyers, who represent 38% of all house purchases in the UK, today face raising higher deposits and borrowing more money than at any time in the last 25 years.

The building society has launched it interactive First Time Buyers' Guide in order to provide prospective new entrants to the property market with a comprehensive, independent, step-by-step handbook via its free-to-access , interactive Nationwide Education website and in a downloadable PDF format. Topics include the pros and cons of buying a home, the buying process, mortgage types and a useful glossary of property-related jargon.

The numbers reported by Nationwide make for depressing reading for those trying to get a foot on the bottom rung of the property ladder. Based on an average property price of £142,457 and average loan-to-value (LTV) rate of 75% for first time buyers today, the mean deposit that a new buyer must find is a startling £35,615, compared to £6,406 just 10 years ago and £1,321 in 1985. The average price of a first home today is 4.6 times the average national salary, up from a ratio of 2.9 in 2000.

Caroline Hallatt, Nationwide's head of corporate responsibility explains that the aim of the guide is to "help first time buyers by giving them an overview of what they need to know in every day language and to make it available all in one place. The guide is fully independent of Nationwide products and services and is designed to help anyone considering buying or renting their first home".