Increasing worries regarding affordability of UK housing

September 22, 2023 by Brendan O'Neill

House Prices

A new report has found that the number of people in the UK who feel that the affordability of mortgage products is the biggest thing against them being able to buy a property has hit the highest level in 15 years.

The Property Tracker published by the Building Societies Association (BSA) spoke to a total of 2,039 people across the country. It shows that 71% of them consider affordability to be one of the three biggest obstacles in the way of their dreams of home ownership. That is highest percentage to state this since the financial crisis era of 2008.

In previous years, securing the money needed for a deposit has ranked top of the list, and this is still a major concern for people. However, consistent base rate rises during the past two years have pushed overall mortgage affordability further up the rankings.

During December of 2021, affordability was the biggest concern for 39% of buyers, so the percentage has risen sharply in the past 18 months. That is perhaps unsurprising given that the Bank of England has raised the base rate 14 times in that period. The current rate is 5.25%.

The report was not all gloomy news though; 87% of those that took part stated that they had no worries about being able to maintain mortgage payments over the upcoming six-month period.

Mortgage advisors with CeMAP training will know that specialist mortgages catering to people with varying financial situations can be the answer to affordability issues.