FTBs face long commute
02 October 2007
Prospective home owners may have to accept that buying the house of their dreams may mean having to compromise on the perfect location, a new report claims.
A study by Abbey Mortgages has found that many people may have to commute long distances in order to get on the housing ladder in an area they can afford, despite the fact that the majority of first-time buyers (FTBs) only want to travel an average of 43 minutes each way.
According to figures from the RAC, many buyers' expectations of the journey they would like to travel are not realistic, with the average commute across the whole working population coming in at 45 minutes.
Londoners are the most prepared to travel for a longer time, the survey found, with three times the national average accepting a commute of around one hour and 30 minutes in order to find a property they are able to afford.
Sue Hayes, Abbey director of mortgages, said: "The current level of prices inside Britain's major towns and cities mean more and more first time buyers are finding that they have to buy further than they'd like from their workplace."
"Even so, our research shows that many first time buyers are still not fully aware of how far they might have to commute each day in order to get onto the housing ladder," she added.
