MSE News: First-time buyers at 20-year low

Leon_W

A lot of first time buyers do not help themselves and have unrealistic expectations.

I regularly see young couples who have little deposit but both have nearly new cars on their parents drive which have been purchased on the knock. It's then my fault when lenders (quite rightly) reduce the loan due to them having commitments of over five hundred and odd quid a month.

Many still want it all now. The 3 bed, new kitchen, furniture, dog, garden, Sky, double garage etc and it is simply not possible for them to settle for anything less. All this in the centre of the leafiest areas of London, Bristol, Bath, York etc. This is again my/lenders fault for not lending enough.

They are also not appreciating that it is a sellers market, so any cries of "it was only a small CCJ" or "not my fault" are going to fall on deaf ears as they would much rather lend the restricted funds on safer bets.

Saying all that, very nice turn of the century 2 bed cottages can be had around my area for around £135,000 so anyone with say £20k deposit and a joint income of £33k is in with a chance. It is also a fact that it has NEVER been easy to buy your first home, easier yes, easy no.

regards

LittleMissAspie

Leon_W wrote: »

Saying all that, very nice turn of the century 2 bed cottages can be had around my area for around £135,000 so anyone with say £20k deposit and a joint income of £33k is in with a chance. It is also a fact that it has NEVER been easy to buy your first home, easier yes, easy no.

So what do you suggest, that everyone moves to Somerset? Because in my area you are looking at £175k minimum for a modern 2-bed, and £200k upwards for a Victorian cottage. Just because your area is cheap doesn't mean that everyone can save for a mortgage just by going without a car. Prices are so far out of reach that you need to live with your parents or become a hermit dressed like a tramp to save enough - that's what we have done for over three years and we still can't afford £175k.

Leon_W

I'm not saying that at all.

I am saying that some are unrealistic. I appreciate that there are large areas of the country where it is impossible for a FTB to purchase a property unless they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. That maybe an area where you live - I don't know, but it doesn't change the situation does it ? The house prices are what they are.

You have chosen to make large sacrifices to achieve your goals for which you should be applauded. But I feel that some first time buyers are not prepared to make any sort of compromise and just blame everyone but themselves. Let's be clear for claritys sake, some first time buyers !

Cannon_Fodder

I think Leon's point about people "wanting everything" is a good one.

LittleMissAspie says she became a hermit for 3 years - what sort of hermit needs gym membership and a £3k holiday...?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=30966727&postcount=8
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=30940977&postcount=1

When I was looking to be a FTB, I had the odd cheapo holiday, not every year. And played football/cricket/hockey for free.

There are always options for cutting expenditure, even for hermits.

I'm not saying houses aren't expensive, they are.

But if you are going to say you are making sacrifices in order to buy one, at least make them genuine sacrifices, as otherwise you give genuinely hardup FTBs a bad name and weaken the argument about houses being expensive.

nembot

Ultimately the fact is, house prices were artificially inflated for years, with easy credit, media ramping and no regulation from the government to stop it.

Brown clearly admitted this was the case and Mervyn King said houses were too expensive in 2005, but we had over 2 more years of growth to totally unsustainable prices.

We are a brainwashed nation, lead to believe prices always go in in both the short & long term - when this is simply not true.

Can't have the biggest recession since WWII and expect recovery to be complete in 18 months, whilst the country deficit grows on a monthly basis.

It's simple logic, only those who require further rises argue the semantics.

Big picture says it all and it's not over yet.

sKiTz-0

Leon_W wrote: »

A lot of first time buyers do not help themselves and have unrealistic expectations.

I regularly see young couples who have little deposit but both have nearly new cars on their parents drive which have been purchased on the knock. It's then my fault when lenders (quite rightly) reduce the loan due to them having commitments of over five hundred and odd quid a month.

I'm sick of hearing this argument. I know you said 'a lot' and not 'all', but then what about the first time buyers who do help themselves. The ones who do live like hermits and don't have brand new financed cars on their parents drives? What about the ones who drive a 15 year old car worth £500 because the rest of their money is being put towards trying to put a roof over their own head? Which seems so impossible these days it is just unrealistic.

The reason I'm not buying is not that I don't want to pay these prices, it's that I CAN'T pay these prices.

Leon_W

sKiTz-0

You may be sick of the argument but it doesn't make that argument an invalid one.

I would like a new Porsche, and it's not that I don't want to pay the price of one either, it's just that I CAN'T pay those prices. Ergo, I don't have one (and never likely too).

Look, we have to accept the fact that we can't all have what we want out of life all of the time as it is simply not possible. Some of us get near it, but most of us don't. Life is unfair but you just have to get on with it and make the most of what you've got.

You are not owed a Porsche, House, IPhone, Page 3 Model Wife..........

Percy1983

As I 26 year old who is priced out a bit I am saving at a massive rate while clearing the rest of my debts.

As for the car arguement, I am have a decent car (worth about £5000) but that is part of the plan, as I want a car which will last me many years and have minimal maintence costs to help with the payments on the overpriced house I will be living in.

danielanthony

I'm 31 and recently bought my first house, luckily it was a 3 bed semi in a leafy village so somewhere to start a family. I could not even think of buying somewhere until I had got enough pay rises and a £20k deposit together, I was also spending £700+ per month on rent through all this.

I'm not bitter about the fact I was 30 when I bought my 1st house, my parents lost their house in the 90's due to the 15% interest rate hike and didn't buy another family home until they were much older than I am now. I think a lot of FTB'ers have a want it all now attitude which makes me feel little sympathy.

Gorgeous_George

It's hardly surprising that FTBers are at an all time low. The abundance of quality rental accommodation available from the private sector makes homeownership less attractive.

Only kidding

However, considering houses are selling in far fewer numbers I would be more surprised if FTBers were plentiful. I'd wonder where the sellers were moving to.

Prices are too high. That is a fact that cannot be argued against by any reasonably educated person.

Prices cannot fall quickly enough to remedy the problem without creating another, even greater problem. So, get used to long slow return to norm.

The best hope for those who are seriously frozen out of the market is an inheritance from someone who was lucky to be born earlier.

GG