London first time home buyers who start to save for a home loan deposit now may not achieve their home-ownership goal before 2012, figures indicate.
With house price inflation continuing to grow, aspiring homeowners must save for longer to put down the deposit for their first home mortgage, data from the Co-operative Bank reveals.
Presuming the current inflation rate of 3.6 per cent per year remains stable, first time buyers saving £307.50 per month, half the current average home loan mortgage repayment, would be saving for six years and two months for the ten per cent deposit of £25,183 required to buy a home in London by 2012.
David Newman, director of marketing at Co-operative Bank, said: "This data reveals the problems new home buyers face in what is clearly for many a marathon rather than a sprint when saving a decent deposit for a mortgage approval."
Aspiring first time buyers must get into the savings habit quickly and take some advice "sooner rather than later", Mr Newman continued.
"There are many alternatives available to help first time buyers onto the property ladder, from no deposit or low deposit mortgages, to parental guarantor schemes and packages for graduates."
The findings come as F&C asset management claims that indebtedness in the UK is at record levels, with money being cycled into different types of products rather than saved.
