The latest BSA Property Tracker showed 37% of respondents saw access to a mortgage as a barrier to buying a home, down from 48% two years ago.
Mortgage affordability has improved over the last two years, as fewer respondents cited monthly repayments as a barrier, down from 63% to 55%.
Nonetheless, monthly repayments and raising a deposit topped the list of obstacles for 56% of adults surveyed.
Some 16% believe now is a good time to buy, supported by claims of it being a buyer’s market as homes continue to sell below the asking price.
For 38% of those surveyed, expectations were that house prices would rise compared to the 14% that expected a fall.
The BSA Property Tracker’s confidence index improved by eight percentage points to minus 18%, but sentiment remained in negative territory, as it has for almost five years.
Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage and housing policy at the BSA, said: “For too long, many aspiring homeowners have assumed getting a mortgage was the biggest barrier to buying a home. That’s beginning to change. Lender innovation, greater flexibility around loan-to-income lending and the FCA’s mortgage reforms are helping more creditworthy first-time buyers access the market.
“Affordability is now the real challenge. Tomorrow’s bank rate decision will be closely watched, but whatever the outcome, too many people are still ruling themselves out without ever speaking to a lender or broker. Before deciding homeownership isn’t for you, find out what’s possible, you may be closer than you think.”
