Mortgage affordability in the UK has increased, according to new figures released by Halifax.
The figures showed that affordability in the UK mortgage market now stands at a 12-year high, with 40 percent of local authorities being branded as affordable for first-time property buyers.
This represents a significant improvement from the same statistic during the market high of 2007, where only 6 percent of the areas were identified as affordable.
Halifax said the recent stamp duty threshold increase should be considered as one of the major factors affecting the rise in affordability.
“The ‘noughties’ were a difficult period for many looking to get onto the property ladder,” said Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax. “The substantial rise in house prices over much of the decade prevented many potential first time buyers from entering the market, however, affordability has improved significantly over the past three years.”