One in 5 second-steppers wanted household or pals’ assist to purchase house

Monetary help from household and pals continues to play a major function in UK homeownership, extending past first-time consumers to these shifting up the property ladder, in keeping with Barclays’ newest Property Insights report.

The analysis exhibits that 19% of house owners obtained monetary assist to buy their present property. This rises to 30% amongst first-time consumers and 20% amongst so-called “second steppers”, with common contributions of £76,239 and £81,451 respectively. Barclays additionally discovered that monetary help is usually repeated, with 27% of house owners who obtained assist when shopping for a second or third property additionally having obtained help for his or her first buy.

The report additionally notes that whereas renters proceed to face challenges in saving for deposits, they’re much less discouraged by mortgage prices. Client confidence confirmed modest indicators of enchancment following the Autumn Price range, as some potential consumers resumed plans that had beforehand been placed on maintain.

Amongst those that obtained monetary assist, the most typical type of help was a lump sum present from mother and father, cited by 39%. This was adopted by inheritance at 27% and loans from household or pals at 13%. For renters, reliance on household help stays vital, with 52% saying they’d be unable to purchase a house with out an inheritance or mortgage from a relative.

Regardless of these challenges, 16% of renters say they plan to purchase a property inside the subsequent yr. Nevertheless, affordability stays a key barrier, with 68% of potential consumers citing home costs as an impediment. Almost six in 10 renters (59%) additionally report issue maintaining with rising financial savings targets as costs enhance. Mortgage prices seem like a lesser concern, with 40% saying it presently prices extra to lease than to service a mortgage on a comparable house. This comes as progress in lease and mortgage spending slowed to three.5% year-on-year in November, the bottom charge of enhance since January.

Client confidence within the housing market confirmed a slight enchancment in November, rising to 26% from an annual low of 24% in October. Following the Autumn Price range, 58% of UK adults stated their confidence of their potential to purchase a house was unchanged, whereas 27% reported a decline. Half of these planning to maneuver inside the subsequent yr stated that they had delayed their plans forward of the Price range however have since resumed them.

Amongst current owners, 17% of mortgage holders stated that they had both remortgaged throughout 2025 or count on to take action in 2026. Of these remortgaging, 58% anticipate greater month-to-month funds. In response, 37% of house owners stated they’re reviewing their family budgets to search out financial savings, whereas 34% plan to scale back discretionary spending. When securing a brand new deal, preserving month-to-month funds low was the primary precedence for 35%, adopted by securing the bottom accessible charge for 29%. An additional 24% stated they would favor to stay with their present lender quite than change.

Jatin Patel, head of mortgages, financial savings and insurance coverage at Barclays, stated: “Our newest knowledge highlights a market in transition. Although first-time consumers are sometimes regarded as the primary beneficiaries of the Financial institution of Mum and Dad, second-steppers’ reliance on household help underlines the impression of cost-of-living pressures on all sections of the market.

“At the same time as property costs stay a significant problem for first-time consumers, it’s encouraging that enhancements to affordability imply extra renters are capable of entry the finance they should change into owners.”

Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays, added: “With the Price range now revealed, readability has improved permitting financial actors to begin planning forward. For the property market, this could imply larger degree of exercise as we transfer into the New Yr.

“That stated, affordability stays a problem which could be overcome by means of a mix of decrease rates of interest, larger housing availability, and financing innovation.”

Information supplied by Barclays