COVID has pushed the average age of a first-time buyer up by almost two years, analysis by GetAgent has indicated.

The estate agent comparison site’s research suggested that this applies to buyers who retained their employment through the government’s furlough scheme.

Running from 1 March 2020 to 30 September 2021, the furlough scheme saw the government pay 80% of wages up to a £2,500 monthly threshold. With the average gross UK salary sitting at £31,646 at the time, this meant retaining an income of £31,868 over the 19 months the scheme was in place, a loss of £7,967 for the average person when compared to their regular income.

With the average first-time buyer house price coming in at £199,246 in 2020, GetAgent suggested the average first-time buyer was looking at a 15% deposit of £29,887 in order to secure their first home. Based on saving 20% of net income per month (£377) and purchasing their first home at the age of 32, GetAgent calculated this would have taken the average first-time buyer 6.6 years to accomplish.

However, with furlough setting them back by £7,967, it would require a further 1.8 years of saving this average of £377 per month to bridge the mortgage deposit gap caused by COVID.  As a result, GetAgent believes those first-time buyers who were attempting to climb the ladder during the pandemic will have seen their average age when purchasing pushed back to almost 34. 

GetAgent founder and CEO, Colby Short, commented: “Buying that first home has always been one of life’s milestones and in recent times it has become particularly hard to reach as a result of ever increasing house prices, with first-time buyers saving for far longer simply to amass enough to secure a mortgage deposit. 

“The pandemic will have only added to this difficulty and those who were furloughed, or worse made redundant, will have seen their journey to homeownership become all the longer as a result of a reduction in earnings and their ability to save.”

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