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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

First-time buyers numbers plunge again

The number of first-time buyers plunged more than 27% in the year to June, with no sign of a post-election bounce.

There were 21,100 first-time buyer completions in June, a drop of 7% on 22,700 in May, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from e.surv.

The average purchase price of first-time buyer properties is unchanged over the last 12 months at £154,041 in June, and down 0.9% on a three-month basis.

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First-time buyer deposits averaged £25,926 in June, 1% less than a year before, but 2.8% higher than three months ago.

The figures also revealed that the total number of high-LTV house purchase approvals leapt by 18% between May and June.

This suggests that first-time buyer completions should return to growth over the summer months.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “First-time buyer numbers have had a disappointing month, with little sign of the anticipated post-election bounce.

“Many deferred their decision until after the Chancellor’s summer Budget, which essentially laid out the Government’s economic and housing policy for the next few years.”

Gill said the rise in deposit costs is a positive reflection on the growth of wages and home values.

“More positively still, the surge in high-LTV house purchase approvals should mean a rise in completions in the coming months.

“It’s a matter of waiting for the emerging signs of growth to filter through the property chain.”

The latest First Time Buyer Opinion Barometer from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows that buyers are settling for second-best in quest to buy their own home

A fifth are prepared to purchase a property with no electricity, or without plumbing and central heating.

And 16% said that concerns about an interest rate hike was stopping them buying their first home, up from 10% in June 2015.

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