More adults in Wales aspire to be home-owners in the next 10 years than in Great Britain overall, according to findings released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders based on a survey undertaken by YouGov.

84% of adults in Wales wish to be home-owners in the next 10 years according to research by YouGov, compared to 79% in Great Britain.

In the shorter term, 47% of adults surveyed in Wales indicated they would like to buy a home (either their first or subsequent home) in the next 2-3 years.

Separate data released by the CML in Wales showed an increase in lending to first-time buyers in the first quarter, while lending to home movers and those remortgaging eased.

First-time buyers
A total of 2,000 loans were advanced to first-time buyers in the first quarter, a 5% increase on the first quarter of 2012, but reflecting the normal seasonal factors, down by 20% on the last three months of last year.

By value, lending to first-time buyers increased by 6% (£190 million) compared to the same period last year.

First-time buyers accounted for 44% of all house purchase loans in Wales, up from 41% in the fourth quarter of last year, and 39% in the first quarter of 2012.

Other indicators also suggested more favourable affordability for first-time buyers in Wales. First-time buyers borrowed an average of 3.07 times their income and spent 18.3% of their income in initial mortgage payments in the first quarter, compared to a loan-to-income ratio of 3.23 in the UK and payments consuming 19.5% of a borrowers income.

The loan-to-value ratio in Wales for first-time buyers remained at 85% in the first quarter, higher than the 80% LTV seen in the UK overall.

Home movers
Lending to home movers fell in the first quarter with the 2,600 loans advanced (worth £310 million) marking a 13% fall compared to the first quarter of last year and a 28% decrease on the fourth quarter of 2012.

House purchase lending
The fall in lending to home-movers and only a small rise in the number of first-time buyers, led to a fall in house purchase lending in the first quarter compared to the first quarter last year. In total, 4,500 house purchase loans (worth £490 million) were advanced in Wales in the first quarter, a 8% fall compared to the first quarter of 2012, and down by 26% on the last quarter of last year.

Remortgage lending
As in the UK, remortgage lending remained subdued in the first quarter in Wales. A total of £300 million was advanced to those borrowers looking to remortgage in the first quarter, a 19% fall compared to the £370 million in the first quarter of 2012, but on par with remortgage lending in the UK overall which also fell by 19% compared to the same period in 2012.

Peter Hughes, chair of CML Cymru, said: “The desire to move into home-ownership in Wales is strong but there are still a number of barriers in the housing market stopping people from buying or moving, which is why we are working with key stakeholders on initiatives aimed at boosting the housing market in Wales.”