So if the average FTB age is 37......

PasturesNew

Where I grew up, it was always too expensive. I was always £5-10k short of the cheapest house price. It was 3x salary back then, but even so couples could just pip past me with their extra "+1x other salary"

dlk

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

What were they doing leaving it this late to buy?

Someone that was 37 in 2007 would have been born in 1970.

They'd have been 25 in 1995 in the middle of the last crash, with access to the cheapest house prices relative to income in many decades.

They'd have been 29 in 1999, before the boom took off, yet while interest rates were relatively low and mortgage funding was easily available.

They'd have been 33 in 2003, when 90% to 100% mortgages were widespread, interest rates were low, and houses were still cheap.

They'd have had the best conditions for buying a house that any generation has ever seen for most of their working life, and yet spectacularly failed to do so......

And now these house price websites are full of 35-40 year olds complaining they haven't had the chance their parents did to buy a house.....

Bizarre.

Much as I agree with the point that you make about why would you have waited until you are 37 to become a first time buyer in this period I would say there is a reason for why the average is now 37.

Some people may want to buy a house at 20, some at 25 and some at 37 etc. All the people who wanted to buy whilst young during the time period you describe have already bought their house and are therefore out of the first time buyer figures. The ONLY people relevant to this years first time buyers are those who havent bought in previous years and do so now.

You could therefore argue that 20, 21yr olds etc have no reasonable chance to be first time buyers now wheras 37yr olds have. If in a really simplified exapmle there were 10, 20yr old ftbs in 1999 but two 37yr olds then the average age would be 21 and 1/2 however now that the 20yr olds can't afford to buy using the same example as above only the 37yr old would buy and the average age becomes 37.

Not sure that was the best explanation of my point but I don't find the figures that suprising really.

DervProf

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Still, the point remains, the house price boards are full of people in their late 30's or early 40's who seem to have rather spectacularly missed out on the biggest buying opportunity in a generation.....

And if they had taken up the biggest buying opportunity in a generation, the average age of a FTBer would now be less than it is ?

[Deleted User]

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

What were they doing leaving it this late to buy?

Someone that was 37 in 2007 would have been born in 1970.

They'd have been 25 in 1995 in the middle of the last crash, with access to the cheapest house prices relative to income in many decades.

They'd have been 29 in 1999, before the boom took off, yet while interest rates were relatively low and mortgage funding was easily available.

They'd have been 33 in 2003, when 90% to 100% mortgages were widespread, interest rates were low, and houses were still cheap.

They'd have had the best conditions for buying a house that any generation has ever seen for most of their working life, and yet spectacularly failed to do so......

And now these house price websites are full of 35-40 year olds complaining they haven't had the chance their parents did to buy a house.....

Bizarre.

I've always wondered this. I'm 35 btw.

alexlyne

I probably counted as a ftb when buying my second house because the second house was a joint purchase with the OH for whom it was her first, and we got a FTB deal with the bank.

I agree with post 23 btw. It's not surprising, and the OP is rather skewed in their argument.

vaporate

Forget buying a house for FTB in this era. Where prices are £100,000 for a 1 bedroom flat?!

On your bike I'd rather just save than pay mug prices.

alexlyne

when I was a FTB (2005), there were flats for 100K (and higher!). There were probably people then thinking all property was expensive and therefore not bothering to look around. I ended up buying a 2 bed house out of town close to buses, shops and the main road into the city for 85K, and it was the best thing I did. It took me less time to get to the city centre as people in the city suburbs where again property was expensive. Can still buy somewhere and not be a mug!

Generali

An FTB is someone who hasn't owned a house in the last 6 months.

I would be an FTB despite having owned 2 houses.

I guess a lot of FTBs are divorcees that rent while the divorce is going through and then use their share of the equity to buy. They are an FTB.

Without that previously built up equity many/most can't get the deposit banks now want.

The average age is being skewed as proper FTBs (ie never owned) are presumably very thin on the ground.

markharding557

I should think todays high divorce rates must be a big factor in this because many of these will be in a worse financial state after divorce than before and so they are likely to find buying new property much harder.

geneer

Joeskeppi wrote: »

geneer is 38?

Nope.

Hamish doesn't get his facts right shocker. :rotfl: