First-time buyers 'make up more than half of purchases with mortgage'

The number of first-time house buyers in Scotland rose to 32,620 last year, up more than a fifth (21%) compared to 2023, according to the latest analysis by Bank of Scotland.

People starting out on the property market made up the majority of all home purchases (51%) with a mortgage last year, the analysis showed.

Those buying a first home put down an average deposit of £43,537 last year, up 8% from 2023.

First-time buyers typically paid £200,356 for their first home, up 4% on the year before and £72,000 more expensive than 10 years ago (57%).

The average Scottish first-time buyer was 32-years-old, a year younger than the UK average.

New buyers in the Shetland Islands were the youngest across the UK at 27.

It took Louise Wright eight years of saving before she received the keys to her first home.

She told STV News: “I’m so happy, it’s been a long-time coming. I’m glad it’s finally came. I’ve been saving since I was 20-years-old, so it’s been a long time saving, bit-by-bit.

“My son will have his own space and his own garden – it will be nice to have a house for me and him that’s mine.

“There was a lot of support available. I found a good mortgage advisor and my solicitor also helped me every step of the way.”

Houses in Edinburgh remain the least affordable in Scotland, with the average property price around 5.6 times the average salary.

Across the country, first-time buyers typically paid around £200,000 for their first home last year on average, which is 4% higher than the year before and £72,000 more expensive than ten years ago.

Isla Benzie, head of Bank of Scotland mortgages, said: “The challenges of saving for a big enough deposit and rising house prices remain, but it’s reassuring over half of all home loans were for first-time buyers.

“While the journey to homeownership can look daunting, there are lots of tools and schemes available to help.

“The best first step is to speak to a mortgage adviser or broker. By understanding what you need to save, and what’s affordable, you can turn the dream of owning your own place into a reality.”