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CML: First time buyers put off by market conditions

Homes are becoming harder to afford for first time buyers, the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) has claimed.

According to new data from the council, Britons took out loans totalling an average of 88 per cent of the property's value in January.

This figure is down on the 90 per cent ratio of the previous month - and provides further evidence that more and more lenders are tightening their loans criteria in the wake of the credit crunch.

Loans totalling 100 per cent of the property's cost, once common on the high street, have been withdrawn by many lenders.

The CML also said that loans for home purchase fell by 19 per cent from December to January - pointing to a drying-up of interest as a result of the shifting criteria.

CML director general Michael Coogan said: "Mortgage funding still remains constrained.

"This is now having a discernible impact on lending criteria and the ability of first-time buyers to get into the housing market."

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