Students sacrifice to step on property ladder say National Homebuyers

Students in the UK are having to forgo plans to travel or study further in a bid to get onto the property ladder, according to a new study.

[ClickPress, Wed Jan 23 2008] Research carried out by Abbey found that 42 per cent of students have already started saving cash for property deposits, which amounts to some 830,000 people.

Just 19 per cent of students, in contrast, are saving up to go travelling once they graduate and 19 per cent are saving for a car - indicating the sacrifice necessary to afford a home.

"House prices have brought in a harsh new reality for students," said Nici Audhlam-Gardiner from Abbey. "They now need to weigh up the benefits of travelling against jumping straight into a career and being able to afford to get onto the property ladder."

Just seven per cent of people who graduated in the last ten years say they saved cash for property purchase while they were studying.

Property expert Julian King of National Homebuyers adds, "Property prices have been unaturally high for some time. This is levelling out to a certain extent, but does not immediately solve the problem facing homesellers, that there is a stark lack of buyers.

"Potential buyers are put off by the current lack of confidence in the market, the overvaluation of properties and the high interest rates. This causes problems for the homeowner, as being able to sell property quick is, in most cases, simply just a dream".

Mr King is a director of National Homebuyers, the UK's leading fast property sale firm, guaranteeing to make a formal cash offer to purchase any property in the UK.

A recent report from Halifax revealed that the number of first-timer buyers in the UK has fallen to its lowest level since 1980 thanks to rising property prices.

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