First time buyers being kept in the dark

According to the latest First Time Buyer Opinion Barometer from Your Move and Reeds Rains, first timers are demanding housing action as half are forced to consider homes with no natural light.

Related topics:  Property
Warren Lewis
27th March 2015
Black Houses

The report found that the housing crisis is creating growing anger and desperation among would-be first-time buyers, with less than half now citing natural light as essential. Just 54% said a garden was mandatory, and 55% a car parking space.

With the average price of a first-time buyer home now £143,767 as of February, first-timers are more willing to sacrifice spaces including garages, dining rooms and utility rooms in order to save on costs.

Just 7% of first-time buyers said an ensuite bathroom was an essential requirement to a first-home; while 14% said a garage was mandatory, and just a third (30%) viewed having a dining room as vital. Staggeringly, 11% of first-time buyers said a kitchen wasn’t vital in a new home.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, comments: “First-time buyers are willing to sacrifice space and comfort in their quest to buy a first home. But this shouldn’t be such an arduous task – these findings should send a warning flare out to our politicians that many first-timers are tripping up along the path to homeownership, despite much improved access to finance.

There is only a finite stock of housing on the market, and unfortunately, first-time buyers are the least prepared in the current scramble for property. The lion’s share of new housing policy has been stoking demand, rather than supplementing supply, with the Help to Buy ISA the latest in a host of flagship first-timer policies. But building initiatives remain largely untouched, leaving enormous potential to revise and improve housing policy.

Of course, there is a flipside. Such strong buyer demand means now is a fantastic time for sellers to put property on the market, with affordable properties likely to be snapped up quickly.”

In their bi-monthly survey, Your Move and Reeds Rains asked first-time buyers what policies they would accept to encourage more housebuilding. Four in ten first-timers (41%) would accept legislation to prevent land banking – when developers buy a plot of land for development but don’t build on it straight away. And over a third (37%) think it should be easier to convert existing buildings to residential use.

One in seven (14%) first-timers believe more pre-fabricated ‘kit’ houses should be used to build new houses rapidly, while 11% would accept converting high streets to residential property, and  a tenth (10%) would happily build over golf courses. A twelfth (8%) of first-timers say that the greenbelt boundaries should be adjusted, 8% believe building height restrictions in city centres should be removed, and 8% think the size of new-builds should be limited, in order to build more smaller homes on the same available plots.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, explains: “The housing crisis cannot be conquered by timid tweaking of the system – radical action is required.

Recalibrating the way we use land will form firm foundations for more affordable housing. Potential policy changes could include legislation against land banking and in doing so making it easier for landowners to build on their land banks by easing planning restrictions. Building on green spaces in urban centres is another option, and – at the more controversial end of the spectrum – adapting the green belt boundaries. Supporting smaller builders will also play a part, to encourage more quality first-timer homes, in the locations that we need them.”

More like this
Latest from Financial Reporter
Latest from Protection Reporter
CLOSE
Subscribe
to our newsletter

Join a community of over 20,000 landlords and property specialists and keep up-to-date with industry news and upcoming events via our newsletter.