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Rachel Reeves
The chancellor Rachel Reeves has expressed support for building societies’ campaign to assist first-time buyers.
On Friday, she met senior leaders from 13 mutual lenders in Leeds to discuss how they are helping aspiring homeowners navigate challenges such as smaller deposits, complex incomes, and non-traditional work patterns.
Research from the Building Societies Association (BSA) indicates that many first-time buyers could be closer to purchasing a home than they realise. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they could buy sooner than expected when shown mortgage options from building societies requiring low or no deposits. Almost half (47%) of prospective buyers have never spoken to a lender or mortgage broker to explore their options, rising to 59% in Yorkshire. Among those who have, more than half (54%) have not done so in the past year.
During her visit, the chancellor met three first-time buyers who had recently purchased their own homes. At the roundtable, building societies including Nationwide, Coventry, Leeds, Yorkshire, and Skipton discussed challenges facing first-time buyers and the measures mutual lenders are using to help more people get onto the property ladder.
Building societies now provide 35% of all first-time buyer lending, with 46% of this going to borrowers under 30, 23% supporting buyers with deposits of less than 5%, and 10% helping first-time buyers aged over 45. Options across the sector include very low or no deposit mortgages, flexible or extended repayment terms, shared ownership lending, and more personalised underwriting for borrowers whose circumstances do not fit standard automated systems.
Reeves said: “For too long, homeownership has felt out of reach for young people.
“We’re changing that by building 1.5 million new homes this Parliament and reforming mortgage rules so more first-time buyers can get the keys to their first home. I welcome the Building Societies Association’s work to help people understand the options available to them.”
Sarah Harrison, chief executive of the Building Societies Association, commented: “We welcome the Chancellor’s support for our “think again” campaign and the opportunity to discuss with her how building societies are helping first-time-buyers across the country – and how with her support we can do even more.
“Too many people assume homeownership is out of reach without ever checking what is available to them. Building societies were set up to help ordinary working people buy their own homes, and that hasn’t changed. Whether it’s a smaller deposit, flexible ways of looking at income and affordability, or support for people whose circumstances aren’t straightforward, there are more options onto the property ladder than many first-time buyers realise.
“It’s worth anyone thinking about buying their own home to have a chat with a building society or mortgage broker, it could be the difference between thinking ‘maybe one day’ to ‘why not now’.”
Annette Barnes, interim chief executive of Leeds Building Society, added: “It was fantastic to give the Chancellor the chance to meet some of our members who’ve benefited from changes we’ve made to be able to buy their first home.
“For example, we lowered the minimum household income required to apply for one of our Income Plus mortgages to £30,000.
“We’re always looking for new ways to responsibly help more people achieve their homeownership dream.”
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