Average age is highest in London, at 33, as numbers rise at record rate despite surging house prices<\/p>\n
Last modified on Fri 21 Jan 2022 19.03 EST<\/p>\n
The average age for joining the property ladder in Britain has risen to above 30 in every region of the country, as surging house prices mean first-time buyers must save for longer before they can afford their own home.<\/p>\n
Halifax, the UK\u2019s biggest mortgage lender, said the national average for a first home purchase had risen to 32 in 2021 from 29 a decade earlier, and was above 30 for every region.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Despite a record year for growth in first-time buyers, with an increase of more than a third compared with 2020, it said rising average house prices meant waiting longer to become a homeowner than in previous generations.<\/p>\n
The average age remains highest in London, at 33, although it has only risen by a year in the past decade. Other regions have recorded a sharper increase, including a three-year jump in Wales to 31, and a rise of two years to 30 and 31 in the north-east and north-west of England.<\/p>\n
Esther Dijkstra, the mortgage director at Halifax, said the difficulty of raising a deposit, rising property prices and changing lifestyle factors were pushing back the date at which people bought their first home.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time more people have chosen to go on to higher education, go travelling, or move around for work, which are all factors in the increase in first-time buyer age,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, undoubtedly, the biggest drivers are the cost of homes and the need to save a significant deposit to get on the housing ladder. In 2021, the increase in average house price to \u00a3264,140, combined with difficulties in raising a deposit, meant that the gap between purchase price and deposit widened in every region in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Halifax said the number of people buying their first home rose at a record rate in 2021, soaring by 35% to 409,370 \u2013 the biggest jump on records dating back to 2006 \u2013 despite surging property prices.<\/p>\n
Dijkstra said it was clear the government\u2019s stamp duty holiday had increased the availability of first-rung homes as others moved up the property ladder. First-time buyers benefited from full relief when purchasing a home worth up to \u00a3300,000 and a reduced rate up to \u00a3500,000.<\/p>\n
The figures come as ministers push to support first-time buyers, including through the government\u2019s help-to-buy scheme. The Bank of England is also considering watering down mortgage affordability rules in a development that could help more people on to the property ladder.<\/p>\n
Rates of homeownership among young adults have fallen dramatically in recent decades, plunging from a peak of 51% in 1989 to just 25% in 2016, according to the Resolution Foundation. Rates have risen slightly in recent years to 28% in 2019.<\/p>\n
Halifax said the price of an average first-time buyer home was less than four times the average income \u2013 considered the limit for affordability under rules set by UK financial regulators \u2013 in just 15 local authorities.<\/p>\n