Don’t be afraid to take the first step on the property ladder

The latest official data are showing that house prices decline while mortgage approvals drop, but people should not be put off from taking that first step towards home ownership, an expert says.

While the future of the housing market may be starting to brighten, more people need to be aware of the help available to them when applying for a mortgage, David Ingram, founder of mortgage advisor directory mylocalmortgage.co.uk says.

Commenting on the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), he adds:

“People should not be afraid to jump at the chance to get on first rung of the property ladder, or to move up it. There is a huge amount of help available to first-time buyers in particular, but it’s knowing exactly what is out there and taking advantage of it.

“Learning as much as you can about the support that’s available and speaking to professionals like mortgage brokers, can teach you everything you need to know and increase your chances of being accepted for a mortgage. It’s too early to say whether the price dip in April 2015 will be a long-term trend, but nevertheless it’s important that buyers have enough confidence to make their move.”

Official figures have shown that the trend of steadily rising house prices in the UK may be starting to ease. The ONS released the House Price Index for April 2015 early this morning, with figures showing that the average house price in the UK increased by 5.5% in the year from April 2014. Although that figure may seem high to some, it is still down from 9.6% for the year March 2014 to 2015, which makes it the slowest price growth over the course of a year since December 2013.

The rate of growth slowed despite an annual spike in house prices in the East (9.6%) and South East (8.4%) of the UK. First-time buyers in particular will be buoyed by the latest figures, as they showed that the pace of annual growth of house prices dropped across the majority of the country, with annual London house prices in particular dropping below the UK average for the first time in nine years.

Although the growth of average house prices seems to be slowing down, the number of people taking out mortgages also seems to be dropping. The figures showed that in the three months leading up to April 2015, the number of mortgage approvals was 4.3% lower than the previous year. This drop could be due to the strict new lending rules that were introduced in the Mortgage Market Review last April, which may be putting off first-time buyers in particular, who may worry about not passing the new criteria.

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MyLocalMortgage.co.uk is a new website that connects users to their local mortgage experts and enables them to access to independent advice. The service bridges the gap between an increasingly time-conscious and web-focused public and the traditional local independent financial advice market.