Average First Time Buyer Now Aged 37
It is the dream of the majority of young people in the UK to eventually own their own home, even if this means taking out a large home owner loan or mortgage in order to do so. But a new report has shown that the average age of a first time buyer is now 37.
The high cost of buying a property, along with the lack of availability of cheap loan products for first time buyers and high deposit requirements to meet lender’s maximum loan to value criteria, has forced many would be home owners to postpone their dream of home owner ship for several years.
Of course many people manage to get onto the housing ladder with a suitable home owner loan at a much younger age, but the majority of these have received financial help from their families, either in the form of a deposit, or as a guarantor for the loan.
The average price of a first home is currently standing at £136,842 and although this may not seem too bad to some people, it is 558 per cent higher than it was back in 1983, when the average price was just £20,810.
SHIP, the trade body for equity release loan providers, have seen a large increase in the number of people who are taking out an equity loan at retirement in order to fund a deposit or help with house purchase for their children or grandchildren, effectively passing equity down the generations.
The majority of first time buyers are now receiving this kind of financial help from their families and we can now see the effects on both first time buyers, as well as the housing and home owner loan market, if this help is not available to them, with average ages increasing all the time, before individuals can afford to buy their own home.
