House prices out of reach of first time buyers

Mike Penning MP concerned as house prices climb out of reach of first time buyers.

Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, has expressed his concerns that first-time buyers are being stretched to the limit by Gordon Brown’s economic legacy of rising interest rates, falling take-home pay and record levels of personal debt.

Mike was commenting on figures released this week by the Council of Mortgage lenders, which show that the number of first time buyer loans was lower than this time last year. The figures also show that the average first-time buyer loan has now reached a record 3.37 times the average first-time buyer income.

Mike added:
”Taken together with the continuing rise in house prices locally, this means that fewer and fewer young people will be able to own their own home.”