Why banks are wooing first-time buyers again

For years, banks in the UK have been accused of not catering to young, first-time homebuyers. Indeed, this segment of the population has historically had difficulty securing the funds needed in order to make the jump to homeownership, therefore driving them to be dubbed “generation rent”. However, as of late, banks have started to put together packages to attract these prospective customers. The reason? A reduction in the amount of interest by investors and speculative home purchasers buying properties to rent them out, and thus a need to find new customers.

Key Takeaways:

For years, banks have been accused of ignoring first-time buyers looking for their starter home.
However, the data has shown that banks are now intensely focused on this customer set.
The driver of this change is likely a reduction in interest by buyers purchasing homes for investment purposes.

“Lenders are fighting back against accusations that they are shunning first-time buyers with a blitz of mortgage offers for twentysomethings, as demand for buy-to-let loans drops.”