Budgets improve for young homeowners

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) said the number of homeowners it had seen aged in their 20s with mortgage arrears problems had almost halved in the past two years, amid record low interest rates which had made payments more affordable.

The charity said it dealt with 816 people in this age group who were in mortgage arrears in 2011, compared with 1,344 in this situation in 2009.

It said that low interest rates had meant the typical monthly mortgage payments for homeowners it dealt with aged in their 20s had decreased from £543.92 in 2009 to £471.61 in 2011.

The CCCS said that twentysomething homeowners had seen a “dramatic improvement” in their household budgets, which had gone from a deficit of £15.02 in 2009 to a surplus of £63.42 on average by 2011, despite high living costs generally.

But the charity expected many people to “buckle under the pressure” if interest rates rose, as they continue to deal with tough employment conditions.

A recent spate of lenders have been raising their mortgage rates, with further increases expected to follow.

A study from Halifax in January found that mortgage payments for new borrowers had reached their most affordable levels for 14 years.

But Halifax was one of several lenders who raised their mortgage rates last month, blaming the weak economy and the increased cost of funding a mortgage.