Every cloud has a …….

It’s all doom and gloom out there isn’t it ? Good news, either on a local, national or international level is thin on the ground at the moment. But there is always some good news somewhere, however small scale.

Today’s good news relates to first time buyers. The number of towns in the UK where first-time buyers can afford to buy a home is now at its highest for 8 years, according to the Halifax First Time Buyer Review.  The average price paid by a first-time buyer has reduced by just over 4% and now stands at just over £135,000.00. Put in a more understandable context, this equates apparently to affordability for first time buyers in around half the local authority designations, a big rise from the 6% figure in 2007.

There is a big divide between the North of England and South of England. The affordability in the North is at around 80% whereas in the South it may be less than 10%.