THE RISE OF THE BOLD FIRST-TIME BUYER: RETHINKING THE ROUTE TO HOMEOWNERSHIP

Buying a first home has always required determination. But for today’s first-time buyers, that determination is increasingly being matched by resourcefulness.

Against a backdrop of affordability pressures and a changing employment landscape, aspiring homeowners are finding new ways to strengthen their finances and work towards getting onto the property ladder. The traditional picture of a first-time buyer steadily saving a deposit from one predictable monthly salary no longer reflects everyone’s reality.

Instead, we are seeing the emergence of a new kind of customer: the bold first-time buyer.

Research from The Mortgage Lender’s Home A-Loan report highlights just how proactive consumers are becoming. Some 17% of UK adults have taken on a second job or developed a side hustle to support their financial goals, while almost half (49%) remain optimistic about their long-term financial future despite the pressures households have faced.

For aspiring homeowners, that adaptability matters. A prospective first-time buyer might have a full-time salary alongside freelance income, run a small business outside their main employment, or have moved into contracting or self-employment to increase their earning potential.

The challenge is that the mortgage market has historically been designed around simpler, more conventional patterns of employment.

That can create an unnecessary disconnect between how people earn today and how their ability to afford a mortgage is assessed. The Home A-Loan research found that while overall mortgage approval rates stand at 71%, the figure falls to just 46% among first-time buyers.

This should give the industry pause for thought.

For some aspiring homeowners, the issue may not simply be whether they can afford a mortgage, but whether the full picture of their financial circumstances is being recognised. Multiple income streams or a relatively short self-employment history can introduce complexity, but complexity should not automatically be mistaken for greater risk.

There is also an awareness challenge. Only 25% of applicants are familiar with the role specialist lenders can play in supporting non-standard borrowing scenarios, while more than a third of borrowers who may have benefited from specialist lending support were never referred to a specialist lender.

That creates an important opportunity for brokers and lenders.

As the profile of the typical first-time buyer changes, the industry needs to become increasingly comfortable looking beyond a standard payslip. Understanding the customer’s complete earning picture - including employment, self-employment and additional income - can uncover options that a more conventional assessment might overlook.

Specialist lending has an important role to play here. More flexible approaches to income and affordability can help reflect the realities of modern working lives while maintaining responsible lending standards.

For first-time buyers, getting onto the property ladder may be more challenging than it once was. But their ambition has not disappeared.

Many are adapting, diversifying their income and finding new ways to move towards homeownership. The opportunity for the mortgage industry is to adapt alongside them.

Because the first-time buyers of tomorrow may not fit yesterday’s definition of the ideal borrower, and that should not prevent us from recognising their potential.

_{TML Home A-Loan report, 2025. Methodology - Research undertaken on behalf of Shawbrook Bank by Pegasus Insight amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,010 UK adults aged 18+, including 470 mortgagees and 391 private renters. Of these, 688 were potential first-time buyers. Fieldwork completed between 12 and 16 May 2025.}