Madam, - I am an aspiring first-time house buyer who has rented for seven years. I have been saving hard for the past 18 months to get on to the property ladder. Your readers may be surprised that I am resolutely opposed to any form of Government help for first-time buyers.
The reason for this is simple: No government help for the likes of myself means fewer mortgage approvals. If there are fewer mortgage approvals, the first-time buyer market will remain frozen and consequently those seeking to trade up will be unable to do so. The only solution to this situation will be for vendors to significantly lower their asking prices if they wish to achieve a sale.
Consequently, first-time buyers stand to get a fair deal for the first time in five or so years of speculation-fuelled madness in the market. I'm sure the combined talents of the Government don't need me to point out that the proposed "help" for first-time buyers is in fact an artificial intervention in a market that is moving toward affordability for the first-time buyer anyway.
I will leave it to your capable readers to work out which interest groups stand to benefit from any Government intervention in the housing market. - Yours, etc,
DAVID ENNIS, East Wall, Dubin 3.