The number of buyers in their fifties and sixties joining the first-time buyer market has jumped 13% in the last year, research from Legal & General reveals.

Earlier this week new data from a Bank of England Freedom of Information request by former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb revealed that the last quarter of 2021 nearly a third (31%) of mortgages had an end date beyond the state pension age. At the end of 2023 that figure rose to 42% of new mortgages.

OLDER FIRST-TIME BUYERS

Now data from Legal & General Ignite – its free sourcing platform for mortgage brokers – has shown a spike in older first-time buyers in the UK, increases in average loan sizes and longer mortgage terms being searched for.

There was a 13% increase in Q1 2024 of 56-65 year-olds searching for their first property compared to the same period last year – suggesting a growing number of buyers are having to wait until their late 50s and beyond before taking their first step on the property owning ladder. It can also be attributed to people who divorce in their fifties and then look for their ‘first’ home.

When looking at the broader market, the most common mortgage term searched on the platform was 31-35 years (28.5%), followed by 26-30 years (22.4%) and 21-25 years (18.4%).

AFFORDABILITY

Kevin Roberts, MD of Legal & General Mortgage Services, says: “As affordability begins to ease, we’ll likely see further activity in the first-time buyer market, especially if inflation continues to fall and the Bank of England reduces its base rate later in the year.”

He adds: “There are a number of factors likely to be impacting people’s decisions to buy a property. High rental prices may encourage some customers toward homeownership. Equally, as mortgage rates decreased at the start of the year, customers who had been waiting for the right time to buy may have found products which are more affordable.

“While affordability has eased somewhat, we know the Bank of Family has still been playing a key role in the housing market – helping 318,400 property purchases with an astonishing £8.1 billion worth of lending.”