First-time buyers leap up the property ladder

Climbing up the property ladder might be a thing of the past if new analysis is correct. The latest Barclays Property Insights report reveals an increasing number of first-time buyers are bypassing the bottom two rungs of the property ladder and debuting with unexpectedly big homes.

The bank noticed the trend when it examined its latest mortgage lending data. Of its first-time buyer customers making a purchase in August 2025, 33.5% of them had opted for a semi-detached property. This figure has increased 1.7% in the last 12 months. Conversely, the number of flats being bought by property novices has declined 2.7%, representing just 19.6% of first-time purchases.

One of the reasons behind being able to afford a more expensive semi-detached property as a first home, perhaps over a studio, a flat or a small terraced home, is the growing acceptance of having a mortgage for longer. In the past, almost every mortgage was taken out with a 25 year repayment schedule.

Now, with house prices holding firm and income not always keeping pace with inflation, borrowers are taking a ‘long game’ approach. Buying a semi-detached property from the off can make sense for those who don’t like the hassle of moving, and for those who want to avoid paying stamp duty and legal fees every time they take a step up the property ladder.

Opting for a bigger home than you need at the time isn’t just reserved for first-time buyers. When it analysed the data supplied by all of its mortgage borrowers, Barclays found 22% of Millennial homeowners aged 28 to 43 were most likely to purchase a property with more bedrooms than they currently needed. This was to avoid upsizing later on.

The bank’s report was released at the same time as the Nationwide’s latest house price index (for August 2025). It featured new research on the size of the current housing stock – with some figures that may explain why first-time buyers are jumping straight to bigger homes.

The building society found the average size of flat is now 1.7% smaller than 10 years ago at 60.3m² . Conversely, the average size of a semi-detached property has increased by 2.2% over the last decade. 

A new leaning towards bigger homes at the start of the homeownership journey may also explain why the Nationwide also found the proportion of underoccupied properties has been trending up over time. Figures reveal 87% of owner-occupied properties in England have at least one spare bedroom, with 53% classified as ‘underoccupied’ because they have two or more spare bedrooms. 

With a growing appetite for bigger, more ambitious first homes, it came as no surprise that the Barclays report also found an increase in the popularity of mortgages with repayments terms of 30 years or more.

Among first-time buyers, 30+ year mortgage terms accounted for 41.3% of purchases, especially with younger borrowers who have more time ahead of them to make repayments. Drilling down into the details, 37% of borrowers said 30-40 year mortgage terms were preferable as they made monthly repayments cheaper, while 41% felt mortgage payments took up too much of their monthly income. 

If you are a first-time buyer and you’d like to see the price of some semi-detached homes currently on the market, please get in touch.