Mortgages now 'more affordable'

Mortgages are more affordable for first-time buyers than at any time in the past 25 years, according to the latest EBS/DKM affordability index.

It shows the average couple buying a first property is paying 13.4 per cent of their joint income to service their mortgage compared with 26 per cent in December 2006. The index, compiled by EBS Building Society and economic consultants DKM, uses variables including house prices, mortgage rates, loan-to-value ratios and mortgage interest relief to calculate affordability. It does not take account of future wages or interest rates.