UK house buying affordability at the best level in six years
A report by the Building Societies Association suggests that buying a home in the UK is now less of a challenge than it has been in the past six years. The report covers factors such as raising a deposit, obtaining a mortgage and the affordability of repayments. 52% of buyers said that raising a deposit is still a hurdle, however this is down from 59% in September 2015 and 69% in September 2011. The news comes as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that thenumber of homes for sale fell to a new record low in November making it difficult to find a property to buy.

Buying a home is less of a challenge than it has been in the past six years, according to new research.

The report by the Building Societies Association covers issues such as raising a deposit, getting a mortgage and being able to afford the monthly mortgage payments.

In a finding that may come as something of a shock to many prospective homeowners, the research found that first-time buyers suggested raising a deposit is now less of a barrier than it has been in the past six years - although it is still the biggest challenge facing them.

Buying a home is less of a challenge than it has been in the past six years

Raising a deposit remains the biggest issue for those looking to buy a property - although things are improving

A total of 52 per cent of buyers said raising a deposit is still a hurdle, down from 59 per cent in September 2015 and 69 per cent in September 2011.

That comes despite the huge sums that buyers need to raise. The average deposit on a first-time buyer property stands at £24,400, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders - the equivalent of almost an entire year's average salary.

In London, first-time buyers need to raise £79,400 on average, CML figures show.

Getting a mortgage is also less of an issue for buyers, with the percentage dropping from 41 per cent to 38 per cent from September to December this year. It comes despite the introduction of strict new guidelines for those applying for a home loan.

At the same time, the ability to afford monthly mortgage payments was an issue for 33 per cent, down from 35 per cent.

The BSA said the results suggest Britons are 'feeling reasonably confident' about home ownership.

The report follows a raft of measures introduced by the Government in the Autumn Statement to help people buy a home. These include the launch of Help to Buy London and the promise of more homes built for first-time buyers.

The findings are supported by the latest mortgage figures, which claim £21.8billion of mortgages were dished out in October, the highest level since July 2008 when £23.6billion was advanced, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

It said total mortgage lending across 2015 looks likely to top its previous forecast of £209billion.

Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage policy at the BSA, said: 'This snapshot of sentiment in the housing market shows that consumers are feeling reasonably optimistic about getting on or moving up the property ladder.

'Awareness of Government schemes, such as Help to Buy and the new Help to Buy London plus the availability of higher loan-to-value mortgages helps to bring choice and competition to the market. Housing generally needs to remain a top priority for the Government.

'Now is the time to focus on building more homes, supported by appropriate investment in infrastructure, in order to begin to address the long term imbalance of housing supply with demand. Innovative mortgage products and intermediate forms of tenure must also be championed - not just by building societies - but by all lenders, the regulators and government.

'This will go some way to delivering a sustainable housing market which caters to the needs of a wide range of credit worthy consumers, not just those with 'vanilla' borrowing requirements.'

The Government has announced it intends to build more homes for first-time buyers

Charlotte Nelson, a spokesman at Moneyfacts.co.uk, welcomed the findings, saying; 'This is great news for first-time buyers and instils greater confidence in the housing market.

'Government schemes, such as the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, have helped to foster a positive attitude and the new Help to Buy Isa will only reinforce this outlook. This means consumers now feel a little more confident about gathering up enough cash to step on to the property ladder.'

Data from Moneyfacts shows the mortgage market for those with a modest deposit is the best it has been in a long time, with the number of products for those with a 5 per cent deposit increasing from 179 in December 2014 to 240 today.

Average rates have also dropped, with the average two-year fixed rate at 95 per cent loan-to-value falling from 5.23 per cent to 4.30 per cent in just one year.

However, Ms Nelson added: 'With property prices seeming to always be on the increase, it will be interesting to see how long this new-found positivity lasts.'

Many first-time buyers, particularly those working and living in London, are still struggling to get on the property ladder.

First-time buyer Owen Jones said: 'I dream of buying my own home, but I spent so much money on rent it is impossible to save. The situation only seems to be getting worse and I can't see it getting any better.'

The London Help to Buy scheme helps those in the capital to buy a new build property with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent and an interest-free loan of up to 40 per cent of the value of a property.

The launch of the scheme follows the success of the original Help to Buy scheme launched in 2013. Some 130,000 homes have been bought under the original scheme so far, with 80 per cent being first-time buyers.

Chancellor George Osborne said: 'Supporting people who want to work hard, save and buy their own home is a key part of our long-term plan to provide economic security for working people at every stage of their life, across the UK. Help to Buy is also boosting the nation's economic security by driving an increase in house building in Britain, ensuring long-term housing supply and creating jobs.'

The highest number of purchases under Help to Buy has been in the south east of England at 18,545, followed by the North West at 16,870, the east of England at 15,007 and East Midlands at 13,069.