Lender Nationwide predicts that house prices in the UK will rise by up to four percent next year. Robert Gardener, chief economist at Nationwide Building Society, says that prices will increase by two to four percent. In addition, he said that the gap between the country’s southern and northern regions in house prices has narrowed this year. Meanwhile, another lender, Halifax, predicts that house prices will rise by one .
They say that the number of people taking out mortgages to buy their first home has increased significantly following wage increases. Meanwhile, the Finance Conduct Agency has also announced that it will hold a consultation as part of implementing measures to bring some changes to the mortgage market. Steps will be taken to further simplify the mortgage process.
Various reports say that there has also been an increase in the amount of mortgages taken by first-time home buyers. As of September this year, the average mortgage taken out to buy a first home is 2,10,800 pounds. Property agent Savills says this is a record increase. They also say that first-home buyers spent 20% of the money spent on the housing market in the 12 months ending in September. This is the highest rate since 2007.
Another report has come out that in some places first-home buyers took up more than half of the total market. This is stated in an analysis report by another real estate agent, Hamptons. Meanwhile, the FCA has stated that the consultation related to the changes to the mortgage process will begin in March 2026. The changes will be aimed at making it easier for homebuyers to get a mortgage and simplifying the process.
There will be a change in the limit on how much a person can borrow according to income. Currently, a person can borrow up to four and a half times their income. In addition, there will be measures to check whether they have the ability to repay the loan even in the event of rising interest rates.
Estate agent Hamptons revealed that more than half of all purchases in the capital this year were made by first-time buyers. Savills said mortgage lenders provided £82.8 billion in loans to 390,000 first-time buyers during the period, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year.
The move away from the traditional house-to-flat model is increasing the size of first-time home buyers’ mortgages. The average age of first-time home buyers is now 34. And 31 per cent of them have children by the time they enter the property market.
The average asking price in the UK is £2,059 lower than in 2024 as the year draws to a close . The average asking price in December was £358,138, according to Rightmove.
