Prior to the pandemic, the age at which most first-timers felt they would get on the property ladder was 32.
The survey of 2,000 first-time buyers and existing homeowners conducted in September for the digital bank also found that 86 per cent of prospective first-timers considered the cost-of-living crisis to be their biggest barrier to buying a property.
Meanwhile, the average first-time buyer said it would take them 7.5 years to save enough money for a mortgage deposit, this was opposed to the existing homeowners surveyed who took on average only five years to secure their first home.
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of first-time buyers said they were worried about inflationary and recessionary pressures on their wallets. Nearly 60 per cent said the difficulty of saving up for a deposit was delaying their plans.
Inheritance, shared ownership and Help To Buy
When it came to financing their first home, almost 30 per cent said they thought that the only route to home ownership would be if they received an inheritance.
In addition, almost three-quarters (71 per cent) said they intended to use their savings, and 35 per cent are planning to use government programmes such as the Help to Buy or the shared ownership scheme.
First Direct said the results showed the need for products to help first-timers, especially since the existing homeowners said it had taken them less time – five years of saving – to secure a deposit for their first home.
First Direct: ‘A distant dream for many’
Chris Pitt, the First Direct chief executive, said: “Getting on the property ladder is a distant dream for many today. The rise in house prices relative to incomes is well documented, as is the difficulty in saving for a deposit while at the same time paying rent.
“What this study shows is the time it takes to save and realise the dream of home ownership – it is a long time and getting longer. The state of the economy will only make this situation worse.”
