Yorkshire's first-time home buyers struggling

DEMAND from first time home buyers in the Yorkshire and Humberside region has dipped as mortgage funding remains tight.

That’s the finding from the surveyors’ professional body RICS, which says on a national level, new buyer inquiries as a whole have improved for 11 consecutive months.

But at a regional level, surveyors in Yorkshire and Humberside and the North reported falls in first time buyer demand over the previous three months.

RICS Yorkshire and Humberside spokesman, Jim Spencer of Spencers Estate Agents said: "The market in our region is steadily improving, with viewing figures and sales increasing month on month.

"The only reason first time buyer enquiries are slightly decreasing is because first time buyer mortgage funding is still very restricted and arrangement fees are still extremely high, which puts a lot of new buyers off.

"Much must be done at Government level to improve the flow of money from the banks into the market, particularly to assist first time buyers.

"The market is currently being supported almost entirely by cash buyers, who are trusting that property will show a better return than many other forms of investment.

“Therefore, cash buyers represent a much higher proportion of the buying public than would normally be expected."