House prices fell 1.3% in comparison to the previous month.

The Halifax said that there was some uncertainty among house buyers and owners, despite continued low interest rates making homes comparatively affordable.

With Lenders like the Halifax and Newcastle offering reduce upfront cost to attract first time buyers this can only mean there is clearly an appetite for first time buyers.

First time buyers are the life blood of a housing market. Millions of buyers are wainting for lenders to ease the lending criteria and bring out competitive interest rates. Only then will we see a return of first time buyers to the market.

If you want to know more about first time buyer schemes, then contact Click n go Mortgages here.

There has been a reluctance to buy property ever since the property crash in 2007. With an economy that has been on a knifes edge you can understand peoples fears.

More properties to rent have come on the market whilst people have moved up or down the property ladder and have decided to rent out their property rather than selling at the bottom. Those that have sold have also decided that renting is the best option whilst the housing market recovers.

The demand for properties to rent has outstripped the supply thus increasing rents. As the market recovers landlords have decide to take propfits and sell up.

For first time buyers this has put even more property out of their reach. But they do have options either save a 10% deposit not easy when everyone’s budget is being stretched in these difficult times. Or buy a shared ownership property.

Shared ownership homebuy is great way to get on the property ladder. You have options to buy further shares in the property. The great news is that you only need to find 5% of the share you buy. You can buy as little as 25% of the property so your deposit could be as little as a few thousand pounds.

The Bank of England has reported a rise in mortgage approvals.

The official figures suggest that mortgage approvals increased to the highest level in four months in April.

April saw the UK Banks granting 49,871 mortgages, an increase on the 49,008 approved in March. The figures beat the predictions of economists and are the highest since December of 2009.

Low interest rates are being sighted as the reason for people being able to get onto the property ladder. However, the number of mortgages being approved is still around the 50% mark of the October 2007 boom. November last year saw figures reach 59,531, so it is evident that we still have some way to go.

Although more mortgage products are coming onto the market, it is still a struggle for most still coming out of the recession.

Lloyds Banking Group have reported that twice as many people made overpayments to their variable mortgages in 2009 than in 2008.

According to the figures, 14% of Lloyds Banking Group customers paid more than the minimum amount towards their mortgage in 2009.

Lloyds Banking Group have said that due to historically low interest rates, they have seen a large rise in mortgage overpayments. Those who have a variable rate mortgage have greatly benefited from the low interest rates and have subsequently opted to overpay – decreasing their mortgage.

Individuals with a £100,000 mortgage have seen monthly repayments drop by around £275 as the base rate fell from 5% to the record low of 0.5%. Working on this basis, an overpayment of just £50 on a 3.5% interest rate could work out as a saving of £7,500. Another way of looking at this is that by making this small overpayment you could reduce your 100,000 mortgage term by three and a half years.

With the Bank of England holding the base rate so low, borrowers are seeing the opportunity to cash in, reducing their overall loan and making significant savings in the long term.

According to Nationwide, UK house prices are now less than 10% short of what they were back in the boom of October 2007.

House prices are being pushed up by a lack of properties available and last month saw prices rise by 0.5%.

April saw a rise of 1.1% and March an increase of 1%, despite very little overall activity within the housing market.

The slow but steady increased means that the average house price now stands at £169,162, just 9.5% below the peak of October 2007.

February 2009 saw the lowest house prices, sitting at 19.3% below the prices of October 2007. Since then, they have risen 12.2%.

Although more sellers are returning to the market, transactions volumes are still thin on the ground. The rate of growth dipped to 9.8% in May, down from April’s 10.5% and this has caused house prices to increase.

‘Supply and Demand’ is still relatively steady with some small growth. It has been suggested that this is due to Home Information Packs (HIPs) being removed from the buying process, and tempting more buyers to the market.

However, the Bank of England is under considerable pressure to increase the base rate, due to rising inflation. If this happens then interest rates will rise and activity within the housing market will slow down.

Many people are holding back on making big financial decisions like buying a house until the new Government announces it plans in an Emergency Budget on June 22. Until then, it is anyone’s guess as to which way the housing market is going to go.