According to Skipton Building Society, the change has increased total income booster applications by 37% since 2022.

The change, which came into force in October last year, was due to a survey that the mutual conducted of 1,000 adults that found that 58% of first-time buyers did not understand the different mortgages available to them.

More than three-quarters of first-time buyers said they found mortgage terms cause more stress, and 70% said that they wanted clearer language.

The income booster product allows prospective homebuyers to add up to three extra people on their mortgage without them being an owner of the property. Their income is included in affordability, meaning the potential homebuyer can borrow more than if they were buying solo.

Jen Lloyd (pictured), head of mortgage products and proposition at Skipton Building Society, said: “It’s been great to see the growing popularity of our Income Booster Product. The intention behind the name change was to help increase awareness and accessibility amongst first-time buyers when it comes to the different solutions available to them, by cutting through the jargon and using plain English.

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“It was worrying to see in our initial research that over half of first-time buyers are unsure of the products available meaning they could be missing out on one that’s a perfect fit for their situation. I hope that, through this change, we’ve encouraged more first-time buyers to research their options and find the product that could potentially help them to step onto the property ladder sooner rather than later.”

 

‘A clear need for this type of product’

Gen H, which also has an income booster product, found that nearly three-quarters of income booster deals were from first-time buyers, with the remaining consisting of remortgage since November. This represents an increase of 50% in remortgage cases over the past five months.

The lender added that, while 62% of its income booster customers are under the age of 40, 38% are over 40 and 16.4% are over 50.

Will Rice, CEO of Gen H, added: “When we launched the income booster in 2020, it was envisioned as a product designed to support first-time buyers as there was a clear need for this type of product in the market.

“Since then, we’ve seen the income booster benefit thousands of people – first-time buyers and remortgagers alike – showing that demand for smarter mortgages spans every stage of homeownership.”

He said: “We are delighted to work shoulder to shoulder with Skipton as we both work to create simple, innovative products that lead to better outcomes for real people. In this challenging environment, this work is more important than ever.”