15/01/13
Almost two out of three first-time buyers will need a financial foot-up to get on to the housing ladder, new research has revealed.
Prospective homeowners now take an average of eight years to scrape together the money for a deposit on their first house, compared to only one year back in 1995, according to research by Barclays.
Buyers in London face the longest wait of more than a decade, up from 11 months in 1995, followed by the south west, at nine years and 11 months, and the West Midlands at nine years and 10 months.
Would be homeowners in the north west and Wales face the shortest wait at four years and 11 months of saving, the study found.
First-time buyers, especially in London, are prone to underestimating the amount they need to put by to get on the property ladder, analysts said.
But while miscalculated budgets play a role in extending prospective buyers' waits, high deposit requirements remain the main obstacle to home ownership
People hoping to get on the housing ladder assume they will need a 16 per cent deposit, whereas mortgage lenders currently require an average deposit of 20 per cent of the property's value, up from five per cent in 1995.
That means in London, the average first-time house hunter underestimates the amount they will need by £22,272, or another four years of saving.
However, in the north west and the north east, the average prospective buyer actually overestimates the amount they need to save by £2,000.
While 60 per cent of Brits will require help getting on to the property ladder, only half that number will get financial support from their family, the report found.
Among those who get assistance from parents or other family members, 40 per cent see it as a gift they are not obliged to pay back.
