The Building Societies Association (BSA) has expressed concerns that people buying their first home face the toughest conditions in 70 years and are increasingly reliant on having two high incomes or receiving parental support.
The report shows that the housing market has become increasingly divided between families who own their homes and can help their children on to the property ladder and those without equity who are being left behind.
The number of owner-occupiers with a mortgage has fallen by two million since 2002 and now sits at levels last seen in the 1980s.
The average asking price of UK properties rose to £372,324 in the four weeks to mid-April, up more than 1% on the previous month and just £570 short of the level in May last year, the highest on record since property portal Rightmove started collecting data in 2001.
Kenneth Gibson MSP said:
“Buyers continue to face the double whammy of skyrocketing property prices and high mortgage rates with inflation data leading markets to reassess the timing and extent of interest rate cuts by the Bank of England this year, resulting in some mortgage rates increasing again.
“This is a direct consequence of Liz Truss' short time in office when interest rates rose dramatically in the wake of her mini budget.
“While European countries have better functioning mortgage markets where people are better protected from mortgage interest rate shock, the UK Tory Government and Labour have rejected SNP pleas to replicate the Irish Government’s mortgage tax breaks worth up to €1,250 per year for homeowners.”
The BSA Report can be viewed here:
