FTBs expected to face tougher future conditions

The government is sitting on a ticking timebomb when it comes to the UK property market, and could be doing damage that takes years to fix by doing nothing now to make the market more accessible for those who are looking to come in at the bottom end.

According to a report released earlier this week by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, there are an ever-increasing number of people who would like to become first-time buyers, but cannot get onto the ladder because of the simple fact that they cannot afford properties for sale.

It estimated that a further 1.5 million first timers would be forced into the private rental sector over the course of the next eight years because it is almost impossible for them to secure a house which is their own.

And now one expert has claimed that the problems could continue to exist for decades to come if the government fails to step in and make housing more affordable for those young people looking to buy.

Katy John, press officer for PricedOut, said: "There is now a threefold pressure on housing: house building is stagnating, and the building industry is not fit for purpose, sitting on land that they cannot shift at over-priced levels and begging the government for bail-outs at every opportunity, resulting in record lows for house building; rents are increasing astronomically, with those in London for example seeing up to ten per cent increases in rents last year; and there are also pressures on social housing for those on the lowest incomes."

She went on to say that the country's economic problems only serve to exacerbate the problem, with a rising level of student debt prevalent in the UK, as well as the fact that less people are now seeing their wages increase in the way that they used to, and inflation making it hard for anyone to be able to afford to save up for the likes of a 25 per cent deposit for a mortgage.