First-time buyers should move fast

The housing industry burst back into life in mid-May last year when the government unexpectedly gave it the OK to reopen.

The number of home-movers visiting Rightmove immediately returned to pre-lockdown levels and was up four per cent on the same day in 2019.

Since then estate agents, surveyors, conveyancers, mortgage brokers and lenders have been rushed off their feet.

Business has boomed, along with prices, but there were casualties. First-time buyers, who had saved a deposit and were desperate for a home of their own, were forced out of the market thanks to lenders pulling their 90 and 95 per cent mortgage deals.

The 90 per cent deals started coming back at the end of last year and this week Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which will allow lenders to give homebuyers a 95 per cent mortgage requiring a five per cent deposit, subject to them meeting the usual criteria. See the story below for full details.

As many have pointed out, this further boost to the market comes with a risk of prices rising ever higher but it is hard to be too critical of a move that will undoubtedly help many onto the property ladder after a long wait. It will also help those keen to move up the ladder.

First-time buyers are also exempt from paying stamp duty if they are buying a property for £300,000 or less. The key is to move as soon as possible before values rise further.