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First-time buyers 'seeing options tighten'

By Jonathan Dawes, Mon 9 Aug 2010 - Published in Mortgages

The number of options open to first-time buyers has narrowed in recent years, an expert has asserted.

Recently, the government suggested that funding for the HomeBuy Direct scheme could be pulled as part of the wider public sector spending cuts.

However, Helen Adams, managing director at FirstRungNow.com, said that the initiative was useful in helping people to take their opening steps on the property ladder.

"The options [for first-time buyers] have become very narrow in the last few years and HomeBuy Direct has been one of the few avenues that first-time buyers have been able to pursue," she commented.

Ms Adams also called on the government to maintain funding for schemes which help people to buy their own home, although she admitted that they can be an expensive drain on the public purse.

Last week, the Home Builders Federation gave evidence to the Treasury on why the HomeBuy Direct scheme should be preserved, as it has allowed 10,000 first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder in the last two years.