It is crazy - the Government have the New Buy scheme which helps people buy a new build house with only a 5% deposit.. But they do nothing or very little to help existing homeowners shift older houses.
Me and the wife looked at some new builds a few weeks ago, and the builder (well known) was offering 5% value of the house as a rebate and paying stamp duty. All in they were prepared to give us £25k in incentives. Can’t compete with that!
However someone looking to buy our house, would need a minimum of 10% for deposit, solicitor fees, and some incidentals. You are looking at £15k for a first time buyer. It’s a lot of money. A few years ago parents were prepared to lend money to their offspring, but they are now being impacted by the low interest rates on savings and also the fear of losing their job.
Another girl couldn’t proceed because her Dad (who was a guarantor for her) had to cut his hours down at work, so again she was rejected a mortgage. Even though she could comfortably pay the monthly mortgage payments
Could take some time for whole market to gain confidence again.