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By Kevin PeacheyCost of living correspondent

Some house buyers are considering smaller properties and longer-term mortgages as affordability is squeezed, according to two surveys.

A quarter of mortgage holders aged under 30 who started their loan early this year chose a 35-year term, credit reference agency Experian said.

That is an increase from 10% in January 2020, it said.

It Comes as Nationwide Building Society said average property values were 5. 3% lower than a year ago.

Property prices have been pushed down as buyers face mortgage rates higher than they might have hoped, or planned, for.

The average UK house price of £257,808 in September was around £14,500 lower than in The same month a year earlier.

Robert Gardner , Nationwide 's chief economist, said: " There are signs that more buyers are looking towards smaller, less expensive properties, with transaction volumes for flats holding up better than other property types.

" This may be because affordability for flats has held up relatively better as they experienced less of a price increase over The pandemic period. "

Average prices in September were unchanged compared with The previous month, according to Nationwide .

The Building society bases its survey data on its own mortgage lending, so The survey does not include those who purchase homes with cash or buy-to-let deals. According to The latest available official data, cash buyers currently account for over a third of housing Sales .

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Nationwide said that someone earning an average income and purchasing The typical first-time buyer home with a 20% deposit would spend 38% of their take-home pay on their monthly mortgage payment. This is higher than The long-run average of 29%.

Experian said some younger buyers were looking for a longer-term mortgage. This would reduce The monthly repayments, but mean The loan would take longer to pay off and be more expensive in The long-run.

James Jones , head of consumer affairs at Experian, said: " With high Interest rates increasing The pressure on borrowers, Young People may feel like they have been Locked In . "

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Source of news: bbc.com