Channel Four programme Dispatches, claimed that one in three new mortgages were for a FTB and the reason it was now so difficult to get on the housing ladder was because prices had risen 5,000 per cent during the last 40 years.
It claimed that the determination of FTBs to buy property was pushing prices up, and that as a result, FTBs were overstretching their finances. There was also a strong focus on how buy-to-let investors had caused problems for FTBs, with many forced to pay above their budget in order to compete.
Speaking on the programme, sociology lecturer, Dr John Bone from the University of Aberdeen, said: “We’re looking at something that has all the characteristics of a classic speculative bubble. House prices have been rising to a large extent because people are in fear of missing out on the rollercoaster as prices go up.”
Popular FTB schemes also came under fire, with the investigation claiming that HomeBuy and shared equity were not practical due to affordability. Bone added: “FTBs see the issue of shared equity as another means of further inflating the housing market and fear that they will end up being stretched to the limit to buy half a house. This just allows house prices overall to inflate further.”
Commenting on the HomeBuy scheme, Tanya Jackson, media relations manager at Yorkshire BS, said: “It does make it affordable and does help, but it is not a scheme that will help everyone.”
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