Home affordability 'at its best level for 15 years'
28th Aug 2012
The affordability of homes in UK property are now at their best levels for the last 15 years, a new report has discovered.
The Halifax Affordability Review looks at how easy it is for a potential new buyer to get into the market by weighing up the cost of properties for sale against the average income of those looking to purchase.
And it discovered that many are now finding it easier than at any point since 1995 to get themselves a home at a price they can afford.
Mortgage payments for new borrowers, whether they be first-time buyers or homemovers are now costing just 26 per cent of an average income across the country.
This is a drop from the 29 per cent seen in the same quarter of 2011, and a large reduction compared to the 48 per cent experienced by buyers in 2007.
This comes after it was announced recently that homes in Surrey are becoming far less affordable, with Guildford being named as the least affordable in the country, joining Cambridge atop the list.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "The relatively low level of mortgage payments in relation to income is providing support for house prices. The prospect of interest rates remaining at low levels for some time yet is expected to continue to be a key factor supporting the demand for homes."
Posted by Staff Writer: Ewan Robertson
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