Home buyers choosing smaller properties and 35-year mortgages

Some home buyers are considering smaller properties and longer-term mortgages as affordability is squeezed, according to two surveys.

A quarter of mortgage holders aged under 30 who started their loan early this year chose a 35-year term, credit reference agency Experian said.

That is an increase from 10% in January 2020, it said.

It comes as Nationwide Building Society said average property values were 5.3% lower than a year ago.

Property prices have been pushed down as buyers face mortgage rates higher than they might have hoped, or planned, for.

The average UK house price of £257,808 in September was around £14,500 lower than in the same month a year earlier.

• Average five-year mortgage drops below 6%

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "There are signs that more buyers are looking towards smaller, less expensive properties, with transaction volumes for flats holding up better than other property types.

"This may be because affordability for flats has held up relatively better as they experienced less of a price increase over the pandemic period."

Average prices in September were unchanged compared with the previous month, according to Nationwide.

The building society bases its survey data on its own mortgage lending, so the survey does not include those who purchase homes with cash or buy-to-let deals. According to the latest available official data, cash buyers currently account for over a third of housing sales.

Nationwide said that someone earning an average income and purchasing the typical first-time buyer home with a 20% deposit would spend 38% of their take-home pay on their monthly mortgage payment. This is higher than the long-run average of 29%.

Experian said some younger buyers were looking for a longer-term mortgage. This would reduce the monthly repayments, but mean the loan would take longer to pay off and be more expensive in the long-run.

James Jones, head of consumer affairs at Experian, said: "With high interest rates increasing the pressure on borrowers, young people may feel like they have been locked in."

Ways to save money on your mortgage

• Overpay now if possible: If you still have some time on a low fixed-rate deal, your mortgage could work harder for you now. Putting money in a savings account can build up and also earn interest to help to pay down some of the mortgage ahead of fixing a new deal.

• Switch to interest only: If you have an interest-only mortgage it means you are only paying the interest on the amount borrowed, and you are not paying down the size of the debt. But moving to an interest-only mortgage can keep your monthly payments affordable.

• Downsize: This is possibly not a realistic option for a growing family, or for the owners of a small flat. But for older mortgage customers whose children have flown the nest, selling up and buying a smaller property could reduce the mortgage size.

There are more tips on saving money on your mortgage here