May 2011
Featured in this insight: Financial services
A recent survey by Halifax of 8,000 people aged between 20 and 40 has revealed that two thirds of people who do not own their own home are not expecting to buy a property.
The mortgage lender has found that strict lending criteria, high property prices and unavailability of deposits have changed people’s opinions on the acquisition of property.
Of those polled, only 5% are making spending sacrifices to save towards a home, with the remaining 95% being either unwilling or unable to do so.
In total, 84% of first time buyers believe that banks would not lend them money, and 67% of potential buyers use this as the reason they don’t apply for a mortgage.
Stephen Noakes, Halifax Commercial Director, commented: “Many potential first-time buyers are not making it to the application stage because of a fear of being declined.”
He further identified the two key issues that keep first time buyers off of the market: “The first one is the size of the deposit that’s required today... The second factor though is fear of rejection and a number of prospective first-time buyers, about two-thirds of them, believe that most first-time buyers are rejected.”
Around half of those surveyed said they would like to save for a deposit but currently lack the means to do so.
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