The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders’ Association (IMLA) supports the Building Societies Association (BSA) in its calls for Government reforms to assist first-time buyers and address the UK’s housing crisis.
With the cost-of-living crisis and record high rents making it harder than ever for first-time buyers to save required deposits, and higher interest rates curbing mortgage affordability, the number of people owning their own home in the UK has been in steady decline for some years.
IMLA is backing the BSA’s calls for the Government to implement an independent review of the first-time buyer sector, to assess how policy and regulatory changes could help more buyers into homeownership. Solutions may include a revival of some sort of Government scheme to support aspiring homeowners, possibly along the lines of the now defunct Help to Buy scheme (used by more than 380,000 homebuyers over the 10 years to 2023), an extension to the Lifetime ISA criteria or new Stamp Duty concessions for first-time buyers, for example. Kate Davies, Executive Director of IMLA, said:
“We welcome the BSA’s timely report on the challenges facing first-time buyers and their recommendations for a Government review of the market, regulation and housing policy.
The UK is an advanced economy which is home to one of the most diverse, competitive and innovative mortgage industries in the world. And yet we are in the midst of a housing crisis, with fewer affording to buy a home, and more renters struggling to secure accommodation.
There is a viable argument for Government-backed first-time buyer support, which must be accompanied by a sustainable plan to deliver more quality, affordable housing on a major scale, in both the private and social sectors.”
