New figures from the Co-operative Bank and Places for People also show that the majority of first time buyers will not be thinking about going in to the property market for at least 2 years, by which time it is hoped that the property market will be more stable and mortgages will become more freely available.
Other reasons for this two year period is to give the buyers time to save up a larger deposit allowing them to take advantage of the better interest rates offered for substantial deposits. Confidence in the property market has been severely damaged as a result of the credit crunch, which has put many people off buying home as the current state remains with us.
Mortgage availability has also been significantly restricted due to the crisis, as many lenders are not able to raise enough revenue on the money markets and are therefore cutting many of attractive deals.
However, the Co-operative Bank found that many people still see property as a sound investment in terms of a long-term investment. 54 percent of those questioned said that through renting property you are simply burning money, while 46 percent would be willing to lower their original expectations of the property they first envisaged allowing them to get a place on the property ladder.
Moreover, the group of people who said that they wouldn't make changes to their currrent lifestyles in order to get the money together to buy a property has fallen from 57 percent to nine percent over the last year, the Co-op said.
According to property website Rightmove, the average asking price for a property in England and Wales has dropped by 1 percent to £227,438, during the five weeks to September 13. However, this has slowed down in comparison to the previous three months, and the annual rate of decline eased slightly to 3.3%, compared with 4.8% in August.