More first-time buyers paying stamp duty
Wednesday, 11 Oct 2006 08:58
First-time buyers are continuing struggle to make it onto the property ladder
The proportion of first-time buyers paying stamp duty is up eight per cent, new statistics show.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports 56 per cent of first-time buyers are now paying stamp duty, compared to 48 per cent at the same time last year.
And across the housing market, as much as 85 per cent of buyers paid stamp duty in August 2006, up six per cent on August 2005.
Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, commented: "Overall affordability has worsened a little, especially for first-time buyers.
"Over the period of a year, small monthly changes can nevertheless be significant - as the rise in the proportion of mortgage borrowers required to pay stamp duty shows.
"For the rest of this year, we expect some moderation in activity although the market is continuing to outperform our earlier forecasts."
The CML data also reveals first-time buyers are continuing to struggle in the current market, accounting for just 35 per cent of the total number of mortgages in August.
This is the lowest proportion since the CML began its survey in April 2005, but as the number of mortgage applications has been rising, there are actually more first-time buyers overall.
In August 2005 there were 34,900 first-time buyers, compared to 38,100 for this year, a rise of 3,200.
However, though there are more first-time buyers, those that are buying are having to sacrifice an even larger chunk of their income and taking out larger loans than they did a year ago, typical multiples rising to 3.27 in August 2006, from 3.08 one year earlier.
The age of a typical first-time buyer has remained consistent at 29 over the past year.
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