First time buyers have ambitious targets

Just under a third of first time buyers have their sights on buying a three bedroom house, according to new research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks. Around 22% are after a two bedroom flat and a fifth said they would like to buy a two bedroom house.

According to figures out this week from the Building Societies Association,first-time buyers said they believed that access to mortgage finance has improved. In March last year, 50% of first-time buyers surveyed by the BSA said that access to finance was a major hurdle, but in March 2013 this number fell to 34%.

First time buyers in the Midlands are the most likely to go for a three bedroom house, compared to 18% in Scotland where more than half said they would aim for a flat.

In terms of how long they intend to live in that first purchase, 23% plan to stay put for between four and five years, with more than a fifth hoping to live in their first home for more than a decade.

The majority of those buying a new home (56%) said they were the sole owner while 42% bought jointly with a partner or friend – 72% of men claim to be searching for a bachelor pad while only just over half of the women surveyed said they were planning to live alone.

One of the biggest concerns was finance – 54% worried about getting a mortgage and 44% concerned about saving the deposit.

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