First-time buyers are stretching out mortgage terms for longer, TSB has found. 57 per cent of first-time buyers clubbed together with someone else to buy a home last year, with 43 per cent purchasing their property on their own, according to data from TSB.

54 per cent of first-time buyers with TSB took out a joint mortgage, with 46 per cent going it alone. The bank reported there has also been an increase in the average mortgage term for first-time buyers, from 30 years in 2021 to 32 years in 2023.

First-time buyers accounted for just over a third (35%) of mortgage completions in 2023, TSB said. 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.”

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Mr Postings said previously: “We looked at a typical first-time buyer in 2022, which was a relatively stable year, and the average mortgage term was 30 years. But we then rolled forward the average change in house prices, mortgage rates and incomes to the middle of 2023. For that buyer to achieve the same affordability, as measured by their mortgage payments compared to income, they would have needed to borrow over a 50-year term.

“As rates rose through 2023 this calculation increased further. A 50-year term sits outside any lender’s underwriting criteria and we’re not suggesting we want mortgages of this length. This does, however, demonstrate why we have seen such a significant increase in longer term borrowing.”

Paul Heywood, chief data and analytics officer at credit information company Equifax, said: “For those nearing retirement age, it is increasingly difficult to extend loan terms further into the future, meaning they are faced with more expensive monthly repayments. Meanwhile, many homeowners will have locked themselves into a new fixed rate that could see them making higher repayments for longer, even when interest rates begin to ease.

“The starting point for lenders and creditors must be to understand the affordability of their customers, which of those customers are being impacted by rising mortgage rates, and what the extent of that rise is.”