First-time buyers must have debt burden lifted

12.46.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 27th Mar 2006

Young Alliance Chair, Cllr Ian James Parsley, has said that first-time house buyers should have their debt burden eased, through removing the requirement for an initial down payment and freezing student loan repayments.

Cllr Parsley stated: "It is now becoming impossible even for relatively recent graduates on above-average salaries to get on the housing ladder. We cannot simply rely on the market to sort this out. Everyone must have fair access.

"Firstly, the absolute requirement for a significant down payment on a mortgage, always at least a five-figure sum, means particularly that those from less well-off backgrounds have no chance of buying a house for the first time. That kind of extra cash is simply not available to most people in their 20s, even in professional occupations.

"Secondly, I would call for more flexibility on student loan repayments. These can also be a decisive impediment to people trying to enter the housing market. A high mortgage with student loan repayments loaded on top of it once again simply removes any potential, given current house prices, for a young person to fund a property on their own.

"Spiralling debt is becoming a massive problem in Northern Ireland, particularly in the Belfast area where referrals to advice centres are proportionately higher now than in the rest of the UK. We cannot allow thepressure of repayments on the basics - such as a good education and housing - to drive young, working people into a mountain of debt. That could create a vicious financial cycle that would hinder us as a society for decades to come."

ENDS