<p><span>The government </span><span>has pledged </span><span>fixed rate mortgages of up to 95% loan-to-value to first time buyers, the prime minister Boris Johnson said today (October 6), as </span><span>it aims </span><span>to turn “generation rent into generation buy”. </span><span></span></p> <p><span>Speaking at the Conservative party virtual conference, the prime minister said the government would “transform the sclerotic planning system” but these reforms would take time “and they are not enough on their own” to fix the housing market.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>Therefore the Conservative party intended to take forward one of the key proposals of its manifesto of 2019, “giving young first time buyers the chance to take out a long term fixed rate mortgage of up to 95% of the value of the home, vastly reducing the size of the deposit” needed to buy, Johnson stated.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>The PM acknowledged that “many people” were happy with the flexibility of renting. But: “For most people it is still true that the overwhelming instinct is to buy”, with the level of deposit needed proving a barrier.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>The policy would offer the young generation the opportunity of home ownership “and all the joy and pride that goes with it,” the PM said. He claimed the low deposit mortgage policy could …