UK mortgage lender Nationwide is reportedly increasing the threshold of what it will lend to first time buyers to aid them in their increasingly difficult task of getting on the UK housing ladder.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, Nationwide, the biggest building society in the UK, is now prepared to give 4.25 times the salary of a single or combined salaries of a couple. Previously the lender was only prepared to give 3.4 times a single’s wage and 3.7 times for couples.
A single first-time buyer earning GBP25,000 can now borrow GBP106,250 – an extra GBP21,250 compared with previous limits. A couple with a joint income of GBP50,000 can borrow GBP27,500 more than before, the Daily Mail said.
Despite Nationwide’s decision, it continues to be extremely difficult for first time buyers in the UK as they must pay an average of GBP154,000 for their first house from an average income of just GBP21,266.