Scots first-time buyers spend less on interest payments

THE average first-time buyer in Scotland spent 11.1 per cent of their income on mortgage interest payments in the last quarter of 2011.

The new figures, released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders in Scotland, show that the payments are in fact lower than anywhere else in the UK.

First-time buyers in Scotland typically borrowed 79 per cent of their property’s value in the final quarter of the year, compared to 80 per cent for the UK as a whole.

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The number of first-time buyers in Scotland in the final quarter fell 4 per cent to 4,500, down from 4,700 in the third quarter but up from 4,200 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

By value, first-time buyers in Scotland borrowed £410 million in the last quarter, a decrease from £440m in the third quarter but an increase from £370m a year earlier.

Jim Dunn, chair of CML Scotland, said: “Scotland, as well as the rest of the UK, continues to see a constrained mortgage market. However, it is encouraging to see positive signs, such as better affordability for first-time buyers and a decrease in average deposits for home movers, emerging.

“2012 will still be a challenging year but we hope to see the slight easing of constraints continuing throughout the year.”

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