According to analysis from Tembo, which used product sales data from the Financial Conduct Authority, the five-year annual average growth rates for 40 to 45-year-old first-time buyers is eight per cent.
The growth rate is 6.9 per cent for those aged 46 to 50 and in the 51 to 55 age group the rate stands at 6.6 per cent. For those aged 50 and over the five-year annual average growth rate is seven per cent.
This compared to a negative 1.7 per cent five-year annual average growth rate for 18 to 25-year-olds and minus 0.2 per cent for those aged 26 to 30-years-old.
First-time buyers aged 31 to 35 grew by around 2.3 per cent over the past five years and the 35 to 40-year-old bracket the five-year annual growth rate is 4.8 per cent.
The data shows that the overall number of first-time buyers has grown by one per cent on average each year since 2018, with 360,000 first-time buyers in 2022.
Within that figure, 12,000 first-time buyers were aged 50 in 2022 and the number of first-time homeowners over the age of 50 has grown by nearly a third over the past five years.
London fastest growing region for older borrowers
From a regional perspective, London has the lowest proportion of first-time buyers over 50 at 2.4 per cent, followed by Northern Ireland at 2.5 per cent and Yorkshire and the Humber at 2.7 per cent.
The South West had the highest proportion at 3.5 per cent, then the East Midlands and West Midlands at 3.3 per cent apiece.
However, London is the fastest growing region for older first-time buyers with the five-year growth rate for this age bracket coming to 64 per cent. This was followed by Northern Ireland at 58 per cent and the East of England at 47 per cent.
Nearly quarter of FTBs by 2030 will be over 40
Tembo has projected that, assuming overall first-time buyer numbers stay flat at around 360,000, by 2030 there will be 89,000 first-time buyers aged over 40 by 2030, equal to around quarter of first-time buyers.
For those aged over 50, that number will rise from 12,000 in 2022 to 19,000 by 2030, equivalent to around five per cent of total first-time buyers.
Tembo said that it was taking longer to save for a deposit, housing affordability was more constrained, support from family and friends and government schemes was more vital and there were more mortgages running into retirement.
Richard Dana, founder and CEO at Tembo said: “A perfect storm of factors impacting first-time buyer affordability means we’re now seeing a sharp rise in the number of people waiting until they’re aged 50 or over before they buy their first home.
“This is presenting a challenge to both the financial services industry and would-be home buyers, with many traditional high-street lenders not offering extended mortgage loan terms beyond the age of 75.”
