There’s a glut of data about first-time buyers from the Halifax this morning, including the news that the number of this type of home-buyer has hit a ten-year high.
The Halifax First-Time Buyer Review said the number of buyers entering the market hit 335,750 last year, up 7.3 per cent on 2015.
But the bank also said that the the average first-time deposit has more than doubled compared with 2007 to reach more than £32,000. And in a sign that the traditional 25-year mortgage term could be falling out of fashion, growing numbers of first-time buyers are opting for deals lasting 30 or 35 years – suggesting that many will still be burdened with home loan debt in their 60s and 70s. The Halifax said that last year, about 28 per cent of all first-time buyers with a mortgage opted for a 30 to 35-year term – up sharply from 11 per cent in 2006.
Halifax also found that the average price of a first home in the UK broke through the £200,000 barrier for the first time in 2016.
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