New data from banking giant Santander has revealed a stark picture of the UK's housing market, showing that first-time buyers are getting significantly older, with experts branding the trend a 'damning' sign of a broken system.
The Rising Age of First-Time Buyers
Santander's latest figures show that more than one in five (22%) first-time buyers it supported in 2025 were aged over 40. This marks a notable increase from 18% just the year before in 2024. Perhaps even more striking is the age of the oldest first-time buyer the bank helped during the year: a 70-year-old, compared to a 67-year-old in 2024.
This shift towards an older cohort of new homeowners is mirrored by a sharp decline among the youngest. The proportion of first-time buyers aged 25 and under plummeted by almost a quarter (23%) between 2024 and 2025, highlighting the growing barriers to early homeownership.
Industry Experts Sound the Alarm
Mortgage and property specialists have reacted with grave concern to Santander's announcement, unanimously pointing to a critical shortage of new homes as the root cause.
Andrew Montlake, CEO at London-based Coreco, stated the data is "all the proof you need that the UK property market is broken." He emphasised that saving for a deposit is being crippled by high inflation and rents that "wipe out any potential for savings." Montlake called for a long-term, cross-party plan led by a housing tsar to finally get the UK building.
Omer Mehmet, Managing Director at Trinity Finance in Welling, described the challenge facing first-time buyers as "Everest" and said the situation should serve as a "shot across the bows" to the government. His solution echoed others: "We need to start building homes, fast and at scale."
A Crisis Decades in the Making
Other industry voices confirmed this is a deep-seated, structural issue. Katy Eatenton, a mortgage specialist from St Albans, said the relentless rise in house prices is "smashing the dreams of would-be homebuyers" due to a chronic undersupply of homes.
Riz Malik, director of Southend-on-Sea-based R3 Wealth, noted that over his 20-year career he has watched first-time buyers "get older and older," often relying on parental help. He lamented that the nation seems "incapable" of building the necessary volume of houses.
Emma Jones, Managing Director of Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk in Runcorn, delivered a particularly stark verdict. She called the Santander data a "damning indictment of successive governments" for failing to tackle the core issue. "Until we fix that," Jones warned, "the figures will simply get worse, despite the fact that lenders are doing their best... For many, the dream of homeownership will remain precisely that."
