‘Lockdown savings and first-time buyer ISAs helped us escape renting’
Two years of not going out or on holiday meant this couple were able to save for a deposit
Inner-city living is making a comeback among London’s new homes buyers
The Evening Standard New Homes Awards will reflect a fascinating year for the housing industry with a steady move towards eco-homes.
‘I rented in block I eventually bought in to see if I liked the area’
‘Try before you buy’ was Tanishq Jain’s tactic when choosing a new London neighbourhood to buy in.
Higher prices, fewer surprises? The pros and cons of buying new build
It can be as much as 30 per cent more expensive to buy a new build — so will it be a good investment? Here’s what you should take into account.
Will Halifax’s new 95% mortgage help Londoners get on property ladder?
The mortgage is only available on new-build houses costing less than £570,000, of which there are less than 12 currently for sale in London
New zero-deposit first-time mortgage touted as Help to Buy alternative
A new first-time buyer mortgage requiring no deposit has been announced, but is it too good to be true?
Bank of England scraps mortgage ‘stress test’ recommendation
The Financial Policy Committee is withdrawing its recommendation that borrowers be tested on whether they could cope with a three per cent interest rate rise.
How this couple bought their own London home before turning 30
Location and WFH space were key for first-time buyers Sajini Kuruppu and Nisal Karunadhara.
Right to buy ‘unlikely to work in London’ given sky-high housing costs
Property experts are questioning whether the Government’s new right to buy plan will work for families living in even the cheapest areas across London.
What age do first-time buyers typically get on the property ladder?
People trying to get on the property ladder are being faced with rising house prices and mortgage rates
Interest rates rise to 1% — here’s what it means for your mortgage
First-time buyers are being “clobbered on all sides” as interest rate hikes mean it will be harder to get a mortgage.
‘I saved the second I had a job and bought in London after a decade’
It took more than a decade of saving and shared houses for this Londoner to get on the property ladder.
New micro flats for 'tidy non-hoarders' for sale in Croydon
If you want to own your own home no matter how small, check out these homes priced from £234,945, which also qualify for the low-deposit Help to Buy scheme.
What the new interest rate hike means for homeowners
The new increase is the third back-to-back hike by the Bank of England, raising the cost of borrowing to pre-pandemic levels.
Buying in the 90s: ‘It was affordable there was no hard saving’
Three buyers from 1990, 2000 and 2010 may have found it much easier than Generation Rent to get on the ladder but faced different pitfalls
‘We bought a five-bed Victorian home for the price of a London flat’
Mia Nisbett and her husband Ed decided to move to Oxfordshire for a better work-life balance.
Homeowners face higher mortgage bills as interest rate doubles to 0.5%
Here’s what today’s interest rate hike by the Bank of England means for homeowners.
How we cut monthly bills by £500 and took 50 minutes off our commute
This couple moved east for their first home together, cheaper monthly bills and shorter commutes.
‘My mortgage and bills cost the same as renting in a house share’
Fed up with living in a shared flat, sonographer Karen decided to see what she could afford to buy. The move is working out perfectly, she says
Buying an ex-council house in London: the pros, cons and what to avoid
Everything you need to know about buying an ex-local authority home.
Top 10 London postcodes for 2022 homebuyers, revealed
These in-demand London postcodes have been tipped as future property hotspots.
How to find out if the home you’re buying is in a safe neighbourhood
Your homebuying questions, answered.
First-time buyer? Blag through your home hunt with this cheat sheet
We’ve got the answers to the most common questions buyers ask when starting a property search for the first time.
What does leasehold mean — and what lease durations should you avoid?
Your first-time buyer questions, answered.
The dos and don’ts of house hunting online in 2022
Experts predict another Boxing Day boom in house searches. Here’s how to cut through the jargon of estate agents’ online listings.
Homeowners and buyers should act now following Bank interest rate rise
How to plan ahead with your mortgage as Bank of England puts interest rates up from 0.1% to 0.25%.
Interest rates rise sees millions hit by higher mortgage bills
Today’s interest rate increase is the first for more than three years.
86 discounted new flats to be built for north London first-time buyers
In order to be eligible to buy one of the properties, there is some small print to consider.
‘We bought a fixer upper as first-time buyers on a freelance salary’
Taking on a project house is a scary prospect. But for these first-time buyers, it led to them owning their first home.
Commuter belt hit by price spike with first homes now 7.2x earnings
The cost of a first-time buyer home in London is now nine times earnings on average, down from a peak of 10.2 times in 2016.
Asking prices set to rise 3% in 2022 as ‘late-bird buyers’ make moves
Early birds bought homes after the first lockdown while the cautious waited for greater certainty on their work-life balancy and frequency of commute.
‘We lived at opposite ends of London to save up for our first home’
Shivani Gandhi and Arun Chopra lived apart while they saved for their first flat – and then headed further out to get more for their money.
‘How I bought a house by myself after 20 years of renting in London’
After two decades of shuttling between rented flats, Natalie Watts decided she’d had enough — and took action to save for a home of her own.
What is the difference between exchange and completion?
The first-time buyer questions you’re too embarrassed to ask — answered
‘Intense saving and a long mortgage term made our home dream possible’
Here’s why one first-time buyer couple are still saving hard a month after buying their first house with a 15 per cent deposit.
‘Nosy London neighbours are confounded by rise in private home sales’
Snoopers’ dismay at rise in unlisted homes sales