Average mortgage term for first-time buyers increases

The average mortgage term for first-time buyers has increased, with more young people choosing longer mortgage plans, according to analysis by TSB.

The data hows a year-on-year increase of the average mortgage term for first-time buyers – up to 32 years in 2023 from 30 in 2021. Overall, first-time buyers accounted for 35% of all mortgage completions in 2023 – with the average age of FTBs at 31, marginally down on 32 in 2022.

More than half (57%) of first-time buyers took out a joint mortgage for their first home, with 43 percent purchasing their home solo. Across the UK, Scotland edged first place in the number of first-time buyers at TSB (17%), followed by the South East (16%) and North West (12%).

TSB says that it’s video banking technology contributed to halving the average time it takes a customer to receive their mortgage offer – down to just 11 days from 22, helping homeowners, and aspiring first-time buyers clinch the best deal in a rapidly changing mortgage market.

Video banking has quickly become the most popular and efficient route for sealing a deal and accounted for almost two-thirds (63%) of appointments in which customers purchased a mortgage directly from TSB in 2023.

Roland McCormack, TSB Mortgage Distribution Director, said “Across the UK, the drive to get onto the property ladder is bigger than ever – with first-time buyers taking out extended repayment terms to acquire a home.

“At TSB, video banking is proving a popular and convenient route to securing a mortgage and has helped halve the time taken for customers to secure a deal in a rapidly changing mortgage market.”