The Council of Mortgage Lenders recently announced that the average first-time buyer was now borrowing 3.24 times their income when getting a mortgage – the highest income multiple level ever recorded. But being offered just over three times your gross salary isn’t much use if you live in an area where house prices are rather higher than that.
Which is why more lenders are beginning to change their criteria when considering how much you can borrow. Affordability is the key word rather than straightforward income multiples – in other words, ability to repay….