Mortgage lenders 'are helping first-time buyers'
18th Jul 2012
Mortgage lenders are currently making more of an effort to help out first-time buyers in securing their first property, one analyst has observed.
Ben Wilkie, editor at What Mortgage, said a lot of the bigger lenders in particular are making more of an effort to help first-time buyers, with the likes of the Lloyds group launching schemes such as Lend a Hand, and various other deals.
"The Nationwide are increasing their high loan-to-values and the Post Office are doing similar things. The main players, or the more stable players, are putting more of an effort in to attracting first-time buyers," he explained.
This week, HSBC also revealed that it approved more than £10.6 billion in mortgages in the first six months of 2012, helping over 97,000 UK borrowers - an increase of 16 per cent on the same period in 2011, when the figure stood at £9.1 billion.
Of the total figure, £2.7 billion was approved to first-time buyers, helping 23,500 take a first step onto the property ladder, which equates to over 900 first-time buyers each week.
Mr Wilkie noted that HSBC have been talking about increasing their share of the first-time buyer market, and while it is obviously good news for the market, the lender was coming from "a relatively low base".
"It hasn't traditionally been a lender for first-time buyers; it was more traditionally about remortgaging or the home mover market. Although they have done very well, they have increased from a relatively small base," he added.
Posted by Staff Writer: Ewan Robertson
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