First-time buyer
First-time buyer is a term normally associated with the residential property market. Very simply, describes people who are prospective purchasers of their first property, be that a flat or house.
Most, but certainly not all, first-time buyers are young people who have recently started their working life and are keen to get on the housing ladder. This can be a difficult process, given the problems associated with saving for a mortgage deposit, their limited funds and their potentially unestablished credit status. This is particularly so given the housing shortage and long term increase in house prices.
People are generally having to work longer to be able to save for a mortgage deposit. In 1960, the average age of a first-time buyer was 23, and they needed to save for two years to have £595 (around £12,738 today) available for a mortgage deposit.
In 2019, the average first-time buyer will be 30 or older and they will typically have to save for more than five years to have their required average mortgage deposit of £20,622.
Recent years have seen the introduction of various government and private-sector initiatives designed to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder. These include:
- Help-to-Buy schemes.
- Equity loans.
- Mortgage guarantees.
- Shared ownership.
- NewBuy.
NB English Housing Survey, Headline Report, 2020-21, published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in 2021, suggests: ‘First time buyers are defined as households that have purchased a property that is their main home in the last three years, and in which neither the HRP or partner have previously owned a property. It includes households who have purchased their property outright as well as those who are buying with the help of a mortgage or loan.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Buy-to-let mortgage.
- Help to buy.
- Home ownership.
- Housing market.
- Housing shortage.
- National Planning Policy Framework.
- Owner.
- Rent to buy.
- Resident.
- Right to buy
- Right to rent
- Self build.
- Self build initiative.
- Shared equity / Partnership mortgage.
- Shared ownership.
- The rise of multiple property ownership in Britain.
- What is a mortgage?
Featured articles and news
UK Construction Week, London is here !
Debuting major international pavilions and much more.
Getting the most out of heat pumps and heating
How heat pumps work and how they work best.
Plumbing and heating for successful retrofit and renovation
Low temperature underfloor systems and heat pumps.
Cost-of-living crisis and home improvement plans
Starting on the right footing and top tips for projects.
Delays on construction projects
Types, mitigation and the acceleration of works.
From Chaucer to Fawlty Towers.
Electrotechnical excellence, now open for entries.
Net zero electricity grids BSRIA guide NZG 5/2024
Outlining the changes needed to transition to net zero.
CIOB Global Student Challenge 2024
Universitas Indonesia wins for second year running.
New project and cultural district described in detail.
The nature of EPCs, crticism and inaccuracies.
History, issues and redesign.
From waste recycling to energy performance the hierchy.
ECA 2024 Apprentice of the Year Award
Entries open for submission until May 31.
UK gov apprenticeship funding from April 2024
Brief summary the policy paper updated in March.