With the average age climbing for those getting a foot on the property ladder, new data from Santander UK reveals that nearly one in five (18%) first-time buyers are now aged 40 or over1.
Many more customers over 40 are looking for a mortgage, with nearly 6,000 Agreement in Principles completed with Santander in 2024 alone. The oldest customer helped by Santander to buy their first home in 2024 so far is 67 years old, nearly double the average first-time buyer age of 36.
This latest homeownership data from Santander follows a recent report from the ONS, which revealed that people are flying the nest from their family home and buying their own home for the first time later in life. In 2022, more than half of people owned their own home by 36 years of age, which increased from 32 years in 20042.
Graham Sellar, Head of Business Development, Mortgages at Santander, commented: “Buying your first home is always a special moment, and one of the major milestones we mark throughout our lives. However, for a number of reasons many people are deciding to rent or live with their families until later in life.
“At Santander, we know it can be challenging to save for a deposit and get onto the property ladder, especially for those also juggling rental payments. However, we are here to help our customers in whatever ways we can – at whatever stage of life”.
To help more people onto the property ladder sooner, in February Santander increased the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) available on New Build houses and flats to 95%, meaning that aspiring homeowners only need a 5% deposit to make their homeownership dreams a reality.
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Notes to Editors:
1) Based on Santander mortgage data, Q1 2024. Santander’s maximum lending age is 75, and a minimum mortgage term is five years.
2) ONS data included in the April 2024 Milestones: journeying through modern life report, which can be accessed here.
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. At 31 December 2023, the bank had around 19,800 employees and serves around 14 million active customers, 7 million digital customers via a nationwide 444 branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the FCA and the PRA in the UK. Santander UK plc customers’ eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS in the UK.
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in 10 core markets in the Europe, North America and South America regions, and is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising €220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. At the end of the third quarter of 2023, Banco Santander had €1.3 trillion in total funds, 166 million customers, 8,700 branches and 212,000 employees.