Potential homebuyers most concerned about raising a deposit

Consumers see the ability to raise a deposit as the biggest block on the road to buying a new home, Halifax says.

The proportion of people worried they would not be able to raise enough money grew by 4 percentage points to 61 per cent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the Halifax Housing Market Confidence Tracker.

Job security is another major concern of consumers when planning a house purchase. It was the second-biggest worry would-be buyers had in the further quarter of last year, with the proportion of concerned growing to 50 per cent from 47 per cent.

Ranking third on the list of barriers stopping consumers to step on the property ladder are household finances. The proportion of people concerned about this issue shrank to 36 per cent in the last quarter of 2014 from 39 per cent in the previous three months.

People were more concerned about the availability of mortgages, as the proportion of consumers recognising that as a barrier for a future buy grew by 2 percentage points to 24 per cent.

Worries over the fees and costs of buying a house were also higher, rising to 13 per cent in the fourth quarter from 10 per cent in the third.

Martin Ellis housing economist at Halifax, said:

“Mortgage affordability has improved significantly in recent years with record low mortgage rates a major contributor behind this improvement.

“Figures from the 2014 Halifax First-Time Buyer annual review show that the number of first-time buyers is at its highest level since 2007 and last year the number of first-time buyers increased by 22%. This was the third successive annual increase with a 50% rise in the past two years.”

Halifax statistics showing main barriers to buying a property in Q4 2014 and the change from Q3: