According to Genworth, the mortgage insurer, there has been a decline in the volume of first-time buyers since 2007.
Their study highlights how tougher mortgage regulation and higher capital requirements for lenders have led to a sharp decline in homeownership and significantly reduced the volume of people – especially younger households – who are able to acquire their first home.
“The scale of frustrated demand is growing by the day. Interventions so far have barely begun to make any inroads into a problem that could permanently undermine UK homeownership, with younger households bearing the brunt of the impact” says Simon Crowe of Genworth.
The alternative? Rental market, these first time buyers will still need a roof over their head and will therefore turn to the rental market. This could be for a short or long duration, dependent on their own personal circumstances leading to that first purchase. A popular scheme is the let-to-buy scheme detailed in this Guardian article. This could be an avenue for these first time buyers but nonetheless, the less first-time buyers there are; the more potential tenants require housing.
