6
Jan
First-time buyers 'could help lead housing recovery'
A situation where housing became more accessible to first-time
buyers could see that group lead a major recovery in the market, it
has been calculated.
Commenting on Nationwide's latest house price figures, the lender's
chief economist Fionnuala Earley stated that the near future is
hard to predict because there is so much uncertainty about how
market conditions will develop over 2009.
However, she noted, a large pool of pent-up demand from first-time
buyers may play a major part in generating a recovery due to
cheaper prices.
Ms Earley observed that as many as 750,000 would-be first-time
buyers have been excluded from the market by high prices since
2003, noting: "Since then, first-time buyers have made up only 33
per cent of transactions, compared to an average of 46 per cent
since 1979."
The Nationwide figures showed a house price fall of 2.5 per cent in
December and 15.9 per cent over the course of 2008.
Halifax produced comparable data last week, showing a December dip
of 2.2 per cent and an annual decline of 16.2 per cent.
