With fewer people taking out mortgages, rents spiralling, interest rates up and house prices (so far) not yet significantly falling, getting on Britain’s housing ladder has never felt harder.
For lenders, this landscape means coming up with fresh incentives for first-time buyers to buoy their loan books with more profitable customers.
This week, Skipton Building Society launched the Track Record mortgage, and became the first lender since 2008 to re-introduce mortgages which don’t require a buyer to have a deposit. The idea is to help people who have proved they can pay their rent but do not have access to the large sums needed for a deposit.
Who really benefits from 100pc mortgages?
Experts have highlighted, however, that the product is “niche” in scope, only really working for those who live in the north of England where house prices are lower, and where borrowers earn between £40,000 and £60,000.
Richard Donnell, executive research director at Zoopla, the property portal, said: “Ultimately, the product will help middle-income households. It’s not really going to help a big proportion of first-time buyers.
“It works where house prices are low, but the product is unaffordable in areas where house prices are high. It’s going to help people buy smaller, more affordable homes more quickly.
“Very limited housing stock and high rents will mean this product is the right decision for some, but certainly not all.”
Meanwhile, some brokers are concerned the product launch is “oddly timed” with house prices still set to fall this year and credit crunches on the horizon in wider Europe and the US.
