Recent interest rate rises are hurting first time buyers with almost half saying their lifestyle has been affected, according to a survey published today by EBS.
The survey also found that a third of first-time buyers who had bought a property in the 12 months to July 2007 had taken out a 100 per cent mortgage, an increase of 15 per cent compared with the equivalent period to July 2006. More than half said they were concerned at having to borrow at this level.
When asked how they would cope with anticipated further interest rate rises, almost one in four said they were planning to make life-style changes to cope with higher repayment costs.
Almost a third said they would consider extending the length of their mortgage, despite the fact that this will see the overall amount repaid to their lender significantly increase.
Over 40 per cent of borrowers said they were considering switching mortgage provider and a similar number admitted they were concerned at the slowdown in the property market.
Dara Deering, Head of Retail Business, EBS said: "There is no doubt that the market has changed in the past year and this is reflected in the research.
"Fewer first time buyers (59 per cent) believe property to be a good investment but this is coming down from a high of 75 per cent and is consistent with a general market move towards a levelling in the market."
Two hundred first-buyers who had purchased in the last 12 months were interviewed for the survey which was carried out by Millward Brown IMS on behalf of EBS.