(1888PressRelease)
September 01, 2007 - Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond made the comments following the publication of statistics which showed that the number of FTBs taking out a mortgage plummeted in June.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that loans to FTBs dropped to 35,600 from 39,800 in one year, while young buyers now need to borrow 3.37 times their salary to get onto the property ladder.
This, says Mr Hammond, is down to poor management of the economy by former chancellor of the exchequer and current prime minister Gordon Brown.
"This [CML's figures] is more bad news for all those desperate to get on the property ladder," he said.
"First-time buyers are being stretched to the limit by Gordon Brown's economic legacy of rising interest rates, falling take-home pay and record levels of personal debt."
Mr Hammond said that "increasingly fewer" young people are able to buy a home and the situation looks set to get worse.
Julian King of National Home Buyers says, Mr Hammond's comments do little to solve the problem.
"A member of the treasury spending his time engaging with his PR department to gain publicity is not going to solve the issue.
"It's a difficult time for FTBs, although one must remember that the lack of buyers will ultimately affect the homeowner, as prices are driven down by the lack of available buyers.
"One would have thought Mr Hammond's time was better spent finding solutions to the problem, than creating spin to suit his political agenda."
Julian King is a director of National Homebuyers, the UK's leading fast property purchase firm, guaranteeing to make an offer on any property surveyed, assisting homeowners who require a quick sale for whatever reason.
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