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Home » Home Improvement Articles » Firsttime House Buyers Still Finding It Tough To Get Into The Market

First-Time House Buyers Still Finding It Tough To Get Into The Market

Buying a house in the current housing market is tough. Becoming a first-time house buyer is very tough. Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru (CIH) ( http://www.cih.org/ ) has show just how difficult it has become for people in Wales aged 20-39 to get a foothold on the housing ladder, as the gap between house prices and wages increases.

The study showed that young working households in Wales currently earn on average £27,039, however the cost of a two bedroom house is almost four times that at £107,864. In some rural areas the situation is even worse, with house prices around five times the average household income. The most expensive areas according to the survey were Monmouthshire (£147,084), Cardiff (£142,773) and the Vale of Glamorgan (£138,019).

A representative of the CIH said "Young households are being forced out of the property market across the country ... It is particularly bad in areas where wages and salaries are low yet demand for homes is high."

However the news is not all bad for first-time buyers in Wales, as the Royal Bank of Scotland has announced that the Rhondda town of Ferndale has been crowned the most desirable investment spot for new home buyers in the its first-time buyer property index.

A spokesperson from The Royal Bank of Scotland said, "The index reveals that for savvy house hunters, the most crucial aspects determining future return on investment are the low house price to high income ratio and the recent house price growth rate of the area, alongside any regeneration prospects."

Ferndale topped the chart despite earlier this year gaining the dubious distinction of coming bottom in a house price league of 1,414 Welsh and English towns based on prices since 2000.

In the wake of the recent market upturn in the town, it is now boasting a large number of "for sale" and "sold" signs and looking to attract more first-time buyers.

According to The Royal Bank of Scotland, "Buying in an up-and-coming property hotspot can help first-time buyers climb the ladder faster to their ideal property or location in the future".

Housing organization Rightmove believe that with property prices in Wales bucking the current UK decline in house prices and outstripping the rest of Britain by more 7% and correcting a previous 6% price slump, the housing market in Wales is starting to look brighter for sellers.

Rightmove also declared last month that almost 120,000 sellers in England and Wales cut their asking price in the four weeks up to 6th August and stated that this reflected that it is currently a buyers' market as, "There is too much unsold property still available to expect anything other than a continuation of static asking prices this year."

Rightmove said that with house prices doubling over the last five or six years and mortgage rates having also recently risen, the only affordable option for some people is to rent property rather than buying.

Isabelle Kassam writing for Moneynet ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk ) believes that since, "Interest rates fell recently but mortgage lenders have been slow to pass the reduction on to consumers. Borrowers who are holding out for an even lower fixed rate are playing an anxious waiting game."

The situation does not look good for those who are presently in rented accommodation hoping for the climate in the housing market to get better, as the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed that rents have risen at their fastest rate for four years. This is rubbing salt into the wounds of would-be first-time buyers, as tenant demand is rising on flats as prospective first-time buyers struggle to afford their first property. A vicious circle has been created that is affecting many prospective buyers. While not being able to currently afford to buy, the higher rents are preventing the hopeful first-time buyers from saving enough to get out of the rented accommodation trap.

Mr Shipside of Rightmove indicated that those being hurt most, "really is first-time buyers, and there is a lot of demand for flats. Two thirds of tenants are actually under 35, so they are the people that are being hurt by rising house prices and rising mortgage rates."

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

The Fastest Way to Ruin Yourself

I don't know many people who would admit to wanting to ruin themselves, but there are a lot of people who are doing everything they can to accomplish that very goal. They certainly don't see it that way, but if you look at the way they live, you can see it happening.

I knew a man who was very strict on his daughter. This strictness was more than simple discipline. He felt he had to control every part of her life. And, of course, he never liked any of her boyfriends. While his daughter was young he could get away with being an "all controlling" parent.

The sad part of this was that he thought he was being a good parent. It is certainly every parent's responsibility to protect and discipline their children. But it must always be for the purpose of helping them grow up to make good decisions on their own - not simply to dominate.

As will happen in every case, there came a time when the girl grew old enough to get out from under the dominance of her dad and make her own way. When she did, she ended up marrying the very kind of guy her dad despised. Not only that, but the resentment that had built up in her life caused her to move away from him and not even speak to him for years at the time.

Now, I don't know whether or not she consciously did all of this for spite, but the result was that her dad was devastated. In spite of his wrong actions and attitudes, he still loved his daughter very much, and the years of alienation were a torture that ruined his health and other areas of his life as he let it "get to him."

This father did a destructive thing, in his parenting. But parenting is not the only place that this happens. Many people do it in other areas of life and the result is the same - personal ruin. It happens when individuals try to live another person's life for them. Whether it is as a parent, an employer, a spouse, or any other relationship you operate in, you cannot live another person's life for them. This is probably the fastest ways to self-ruin that exists on the planet today.

The same problem is all too common in the workplace. When a boss or supervisor tries to micro manage a person to the point of controlling every little action, it creates rebellion. The person will try to sabotage the authority figure, or will quit. This puts the one who is trying to be in control in a position of always struggling to keep the other person in their place. After a point, fatigue sets in and things begin to spiral out of control.

Here is the problem. The nature of human beings is such that each person has the ability and the internal drive to exercise their own free will. People will go to almost any extreme to accomplish it. Families have been destroyed, companies have been bankrupted, and wars have been fought, all in the name of achieving freedom.

Why not take a different approach. Instead of trying to control people, simply define the parameters that need to exist for the organization to run smoothly, and allow people to make their own way within those limits. Instead of generating rebellion, this will make a person feel appreciated and respected. It will make them appreciate and respect you, in return.

If you want things to be different in your life, then don't look to see how you can go about changing others. Look for ways to change yourself. You simply can't go inside of another person's head and change them. Try and you will destroy yourself. But you can do things to change yourself. Then, instead of ruin, you will find the growth and fulfillment you are looking for.