Affordability Home ownership set for a boost as rules relaxed

During the coming weeks and months, many more people may be able to buy a property they previously would have assumed was out of their price range.

- Rupert Jones

One of Britain's biggest mortgage lenders, Santander, has loosened its affordability rules to enable customers to borrow more, with other banks and building societies almost certain to follow suit.

Rising house prices and higher interest rates, plus continuing cost of living pressures, have made getting a foot on the property ladder, or buying a bigger home increasingly challenging for many.

Mortgage brokers say changes will bring home ownership within the reach of more people. But some worry that letting people borrow more will push up house prices even faster, while others warn that we must not risk a repeat of the risky lending that contributed to the 2007-08 financial crash.

Last month, the City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority effectively encouraged lenders to loosen their purse strings now that interest rates are coming down.