"The good news is that there are more lenders than ever before trying to bridge that gap and offer creative solutions for making that first step onto the property ladder"
- Stephanie Daley - Alexander Hall
The latest research by Alexander Hall has revealed that the gap between the mortgage required by the average first-time buyer and the mortgage they are actually eligible for has grown by an estimated 552% over the last decade.
The mortgage broker analysed first-time buyer mortgage eligibility based on the average first-time buyer house price, the average income of a first-time buyer and the mortgage they are able to obtain at the income to lending multiple of 4.5 times earnings.
The research shows that a decade ago, the average first-time buyer's house price sat at £162,362. Having placed a 15% deposit of £24,354, the average first-time buyer required a mortgage of £138,007.
With the average annual income of a first-time buyer sitting at £29,181 at the time, they were able to secure a mortgage to the tune of £131,315 based on an income to lending multiple of 4.5 times earnings.
This left the average first-time buyer just £6,693 shy of the required mortgage, presenting a small, but largely traversable obstacle when getting a first foot on the ladder.
Fast forward to today and the average first-time buyer's house price has increased by 52% over the last 10 years, meaning that a 15% deposit now stands at £36,986, with the average first-time buyer requiring a mortgage loan to the tune of £209,590 - over £70,000 more than they did a decade ago.
However, during the same period, the average income of a first-time buyer has increased by just 26% to £36,885 per year, meaning that at 4.5 times income, they are eligible for a mortgage loan of just £165,983.
This means that the gap between the mortgage the average first-time buyer requires and the mortgage they are eligible for has increased by £36,914 - a 552% increase versus a decade ago.
Recently, Nationwide came out to bat for first-time buyers, offering mortgages of up to 6 times income for just a 5% deposit.
However, analysis shows that, even with this additional help, first-time buyers fall short when it comes to mortgage affordability. Placing a 5% deposit today would mean the average first-time buyer requires a loan of £234,247 but, even at 6 times their income, they would only be able to secure a mortgage to the tune of £221,311.
As a result, they would still fall short of the mortgage they actually require by almost £13,000 (£12,936).
Stephanie Daley, Director of Partnerships at Alexander Hall, commented: “Affordability remains a struggle for first-time buyers to get that first foot on the ladder. Even 10 years ago we can see the mortgage they were eligible for at 4.5x LTI didn’t quite meet the mortgage they actually required to be able to afford the average price of a first home. The gap between mortgage eligibility and what FTBs can achieve has continued to widen, now with the average FTB falling close to £13,000 short.
"The good news is that there are more lenders than ever before trying to bridge that gap and offer creative solutions for making that first step onto the property ladder. We’ve recently seen Halifax offer their ‘FTB boost product’ at 5.5x income, with a 10% deposit. Nationwide went a step further at 6x income at 95% LTV.
"For FTBs now, compared to 10 years ago there are more innovative lenders available. Lenders such as Generation Home offer “Deposit booster” and “income booster” products, Skipton with their 100% LTV track record product, and Accord offers 99% LTV products to name just a few.
"We’ve also recently seen more lenders getting comfortable with new builds at higher loan-to-value than we ever have before which helps to ease deposit requirements in this space.
"All the above highlights the importance of seeking impartial mortgage advice. We often speak to prospective first-time buyers who have no idea of the schemes available to them to help when getting onto the ladder.”
