Three Ways to Get on the Housing Ladder

The UK housing market seems to have been the subject of an ever-spiralling boom in house prices and, with a few notable corrections in each decade, this has largely been the case. However, certain regions of the UK have benefited (or suffered, dependent on your point of view) from significantly greater price rises.

No matter where you live, property in the UK is now relatively expensive with the average house price having nearly trebled since 1995. In the 1990s the average house price was just twice the average wage. In 2016 house prices in London were reported to be between 3 and 9 times the average wage! In the South East, any increases to the average wage have generally been outstripped by large increases in house prices.

With this disparity between the nation’s average wage and the citizen’s average borrowing capacity one could be forgiven for suspecting that a market correction is overdue.

However, with interest rates still very low, mortgage affordability criteria are still being met by enough people in the market for values to remain constant or increase in popular areas. This, coupled with an acknowledged under supply of housing and a rising population has compounded the problem, making it one of the most hotly debated political issues of our time.

Of course, none of this is of much comfort if you have a young family looking for a home of their own and you can’t provide one.

So, what can you do to get on the housing ladder? Here are three ideas to consider;

1. Consider applying for assistance under the government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme. This is aimed at people outside the housing market that are interested in buying a new home.
2. Start a specialist ISA savings account now and benefit from government assistance when you are ready to buy your home.
3. Consider buying just a part share in a home and renting the rest for now. This has the added benefit of allowing you to increase your equity through the repayment of your mortgage and any rise in house prices over time.

When buying a home it's always worth remembering that this should be, at least primarily, your home and not an investment. If it increases in value during your ownership then that is an added bonus to the feeling of knowing you own your own piece of place to rest your head and keep your family warm and safe. And remember, your home may be at risk if you fail to keep up the monthly loan repayments.

For more information or to speak to a mortgage adviser, contact us on 01628 507477.