Figures show that first time buyers in Scotland now need an average of £24,573 in order to be able to put a deposit down for a property and get onto the property ladder. This comes after lenders increased their deposit requirements for first time buyers over the past couple of years as a result of the global financial crisis.

This means that compared to 2007 the average first time buyer in Scotland had to find over £15,000 extra in order to be able to put down a deposit on a home based on the increasing demands of mortgage lenders.

The research was conducted by Hometrack, with officials from the firm stating that as a result of resilient house prices in some parts of Scotland coupled with severe mortgage restrictions from lenders many first time buyers who did not have a large amount of savings were pushed out of the property market.

Since 2007 the average quartile property price in Scotland was found to have increased by 1.6 percent according to the study, but in the same period the average deposit required by first time buyers increased by 154 percent. Just two years ago the average deposit required by Scottish first time buyers was less than £10,000.

It has now increased to nearly £25,000. It is thought that deposit levels for first time buyers in Scotland have risen by more than any other place in the UK, with the average increase showing in England and Wales standing at 129 percent.

An official from Hometrack stated: “The fact is that the average mortgage for first-time buyers has gone down to 75 per cent loan-to-value, so even while prices have fallen, that has been offset by the need for a larger deposit.”

154 percent increase in deposits required by first time buyers is a post from: Glitec Loans

However, it was hoped that by increasing this threshold by an extra £50,000 more buyers would be tempted to look at purchasing a home, and this would help to revive the property market, which was suffering badly at the time.

However, the stamp duty holiday was only ever a temporary measure, and come to an end at the end of 2009. This means that the threshold for stamp duty exemption will fall back down to its original level of £125,000.

This could put many first time buyers off from jumping onto the property ladder unless they can find a property that falls within the stamp duty exemption level, and a number of industry groups have criticised the government’s decision to bring the stamp duty holiday to an end.

However, it has emerged that home buyers in Bloxham are going to get lucky because they will still be able to enjoy the benefits of the stamp duty holiday courtesy of a house builder.

Taylor Wimpey has announced that it will continue to cover the cost of the stamp duty for purchasers that decide to buy selected properties. The developer hopes that this will help to further boost the property market and renew interest in new build properties.

A spokesperson for the group, Anne Wallace, stated: “The stamp duty holiday was largely seen as a step in the right direction and provided much needed support for many first time buyers particularly in the Midlands where a number of properties are under £175,000. Our scheme will continue to support these purchasers as well as those buying larger houses where the cost of stamp duty is even greater.”

Buyers In Bloxham Can Continue To Enjoy Stamp Duty Holiday is a post from: Glitec Loans

Although first time buyers had access to a range of perks such as 100 percent and even 125 percent mortgages the high cost of properties coupled with high rates of interest made it impossible to get onto the property ladder for some.

When the property bubble burst a couple of years ago and house prices started to come down, many first time buyers may have thought that at last they had a chance to get their hands on a property and become a homeowners.

However, this was not to be. Just as property prices started to fall and the base interest rate hit an all time low of 0.5 percent lenders started to be far more stringent about giving out mortgages and started demanding far higher deposits from borrowers. With the 100 percent and 125 percent mortgages no longer available and lenders demanding extortionate deposits of 25 percent and even 40 percent in some cases many first time buyers had to once again put their dreams of homeownership on the back burner again.

However, for those that feel that they will never be able to get onto the property ladder because of high deposit levels or lack of mortgage availability there is one option that could prove to provide a helping hands. Shared ownership mortgages are a great help for many first time buyers as it allows them to get onto the property ladder one step at a time, and means that the process of buying a home becomes more manageable and more affordable.

With a shared ownership property you only have to take out a mortgage for the percentage of the property that you are buying. Some shared ownership properties offer 50 percent of the share, some offer 75 percent, some offer 25 percent, and so on.

If you are successful in getting the mortgage for the share that you are buying you then pay rent towards the remaining share to the appropriate housing association. However, the great thins is that you can slowly buy more shares – known as staircasing – as your situation improves. On the other hand, if you prefer you can continue to just own the share that you have taken the mortgage on and carry on renting the other share indefinitely.

With a shared ownership property you will only need a small mortgage depending on how much your share costs, and you could still end up with a really nice home. What’s more you will only need a small deposit because you will only be borrowing a small amount by way of a mortgage, and this can prove a real help.

You will find that many shared ownership properties are new build properties, so you could find yourself in a smart new home with all the mod cons. If you want to keep costs down further you could opt for a resale, which is where someone that had already bought a share of a property wants to sell their share on to another buyer.

Could shared ownership be the answer to your property dreams? is a post from: Glitec Loans

Properties under the value of £125,000 have always been exempt from stamp duty, and by increasing this threshold to £175,000 on a temporary basis the government hoped to help more people onto the property ladder whilst at the same time boosting property sales in a struggling market.

However, recent figures have shown that whilst many consumers were optimistic about the move and welcomed the suspension of stamp duty the measure has not helped as many people as was hoped.

The government had predicted that based on the number of people that would save on stamp duty buyers would collectively save £600 million on house purchases in the first twelve months. However, according to figures released by the property website zoopla.co.uk only £173 million was saved during this period.

It is thought that there are a number of reasons why the figures have been so disappointing compared to the figures that had been predicted.

One of the main factors is that many would be first time buyers have found it extremely difficult to get a mortgage at all in the current climate regardless of stamp duty requirements, partly due to increased stringency from lenders and partly due to the high deposit levels that lenders have been demanding.

Nicholas Leeming from Zoopla said: “The stamp-duty holiday has so far failed to reinvigorate the housing market. Rather than ending it, the Government should consider extending it by making first-time buyers permanently exempt and by giving others the ability to defer payment for up to, say, five years.”

Stamp duty suspension was not as useful as hoped is a post from: Glitec Loans

The good news is that interest rates have fallen twice in the last few months, and house price inflation has slowed down, which means that affordability may be increased for the average first time buyer, increasing the chances of getting onto the property ladder. It is also important to remember that whilst the traditional way of getting onto the property ladder is to get a mortgage, find a property, put the offer in, and hopefully complete the purchase, there are other options that you can look at.

Property prices are still out of the reach of many first time buyers, but it may be an idea to go to a property auction, where there are often bargains to be found. Of course, you will most likely find yourself up against investors with shed loads of cold hard cash to throw around, but it is still worth a shot just on the off-chance that you get lucky and bag a bargain property at a price that you can afford.

If you don’t fancy the idea of facing the competition at auction you may want to consider shared ownership, where you only have to raise the mortgage for a set percentage of the property and you pay rent on the remainder. Over time you can increase your share in the property through a process known as staircasing, or you can continue with your original share and then sell your share when you want to move on. This has become a popular way for some people to get onto the property ladder without having to take out a huge mortgage or raise a massive deposit.

The government has also recognised the difficulties that many first time buyers are experiencing when it comes to getting on to the property ladder, and has introduced the HomeBuy scheme, which is a government funded scheme to help first time buyers purchase a property on the open market. Benefits of this scheme include access to an equity loan, which does not have to be repaid until the property is sold.

The increasing range of options means that it will hopefully become easier for the average first time buyer to get onto the property ladder in the future. Another option has been for buyers to team up with friends, relations, or partners to purchase a home, but this has caused problems in the event that the relationship turns sour and should therefore be given careful consideration.

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Tips to get onto the property ladder is a post from: Glitec Loans