The length of mortgage term being taken out by first-time buyers (FTBs) and the loan to value (LTV) opted for have both significantly increased since the beginning of 2018, according to new research from HSBC.

Since January 2018, the average mortgage length chosen by FTBs has increased by three and half years, now sitting at 27 years and 8 months. HSBS also revealed that FTBs are now, on average, taking out mortgages for six years longer than those already on the property ladder and the average LTV for first-time purchases also increased from 72 per cent LTV to 81 per cent.

Furthermore, prospective buyers are now expecting to wait longer to get onto the property ladder, with the bank’s research highlighting that the average age people expect to acquire their first property ss now 39 years old, and more than half of those looking to buy their first home are already supporting a family. This age is 11 years older than those who are already on the property ladder, who bought their first home at 28 years old on average.

Two thirds of people (64 per cent) wanting to buy expect to buy with someone else, with one in ten having to club together with a friend or family member to get on the ladder.

Commenting on the findings, HSBC UK interim head of mortgages and savings Aaron Shinwell said: “It is a concern that the expectation of first time buyers is that they will not be able to get on the property ladder until they are forty years old, especially as more than half of those looking to get on the property ladder already have children to support. We’re committed to supporting FTBs so the old adage ‘life begins at forty’, doesn’t become synonymous with buying a first home.

“With almost four in five first time buyers using a broker it’s been an important part of our strategy to provide more brokers with access to our great value products and services. We recently announced our 100th broker partnership, and now we are already up to 110, giving over 13,500 broker access to our mortgages, while simplifying our processes to help brokers help their clients buy their first home.”

Shinwell also praised the Help To Buy scheme and noted that, since the scheme will no longer accept new applicants after November, opening an account before then could make a “real difference” to when a FTB gets the keys to their first home.

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