Newly appointed economic secretary Lucy Rigby and housing minister Matthew Pennycook have called on lenders to make first-time buyers their top priority, in a roundtable meeting hosted by the Treasury yesterday.
The roundtable, which included senior representatives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Natwest, Santander and UK Finance, followed a meeting with building societies last week, in which lenders explained how their products could help thousands onto the housing ladder.
As the government focuses on increasing homeownership and delivering more affordable housing as part of its Plan for Change, lenders at the roundtable discussed how the Leeds Reforms announced by the chancellor in July can help more people with small deposits and low incomes find a mortgage.
The changes are expected to help up to 36,000 extra first-time buyers secure their own home in the first year alone, while the Financial Conduct Authority is simplifying mortgage lending rules such as affordability checks so that more people can borrow within safe and regulated limits.
Rigby said of the meetings:
“Helping first-time buyers onto the housing ladder is central to our Plan for Change. That’s why I’m bringing lenders together to make mortgages more accessible and highlight new options for first-time buyers so more people can finally own their own home.”
Yesterday, Lloyds Banking Group announced it was making an extra £4 billion of lending available to high loan to income first-time buyers following the lending reforms.
‘Recent affordability changes have already started to help would-be homeowners get on the property ladder sooner and lending an extra £4 billion means we can help even more customers get the keys to their first home’, Lloyds Banking Group homes director Andrew Asaam said.
Robin Fieth, chief executive of the Building Societies Association, and Santander UK CEO Mike Regnier both welcomed the discussions.
Fieth commented:
“We welcome the government’s efforts to support first-time buyers and are pleased to see engagement with building societies and other lenders on how to better support people who can demonstrate affordability but have been excluded by outdated regulations. Building societies have always led the way in developing innovative solutions to help people into homeownership, and we are ready to do more.”
Regnier added:
“We welcome the opportunity to engage with the economic secretary and the housing minister on the future of home ownership, building on the work that has already been done to enable lenders to support more homeowners and first-time buyers realise their home buying aspirations.”
