Mortgages hit record highs

Mortgages for first time buyers are now costing borrowers as much as they were during the early 90s housing boom.

According to the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), the rise has resulted in large gains for the private rental sector.

New homeowners now have to spend an average of 35 per cent of their income on their mortgage which is higher than the peak of 34 per cent which was recorded in 1990.

Adrian Coles, director general of the BSA, said: "With first-time buyers finding it increasingly difficult to get a foot on the housing ladder, the private rented sector is providing accommodation to increasing numbers of people."

Steve Wilcox, a professor of housing policy at the University of York, said we are likely to see "continuing growth in the private rented sector".

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