"Buying a first home or moving to accommodate a growing family should be a moment of joy, but, for too many young people, it’s become an exhausting and uncertain ordeal that puts huge pressure on their finances and family life, let alone their mental health"
- David Morris - Santander
Younger buyers in England and Wales are disproportionately affected by failed property transactions, with first-time buyers and growing families facing significant hurdles, according to new research from Santander UK.
The report, Fixing the Broken Chain, based on independent economic analysis from WPI Economics and a survey of over 2,000 consumers conducted by JL Partners, found that more than 530,000 housing transactions fail each year. Among those aged 25-34, 36% have experienced a failed property sale or purchase, compared with 23% across the wider UK population.
The study also highlights the emotional strain younger buyers experience. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of 18-24 year olds reported feeling constantly or frequently stressed during the buying process, compared with 54% of the general population.
This pressure is discouraging homeownership: 42% of 18-24 year olds and 38% of 25-34 year olds have considered delaying or giving up on buying a home due to the complexity of the system, well above the national average of 24%.
Older homeowners are also affected, though differently. Many are reluctant to move because of the cumbersome transaction process. A third (32%) of 55-64 year olds and 36% of 64-74 year olds said they were less likely to move due to previous buying and selling experiences.
This creates a cycle in which older generations remain in larger homes, second steppers cannot upsize, and first-time buyers struggle to enter the market.
There is a strong appetite for reform across age groups. Over three-quarters of under-35s said a streamlined process would make them more likely to move, compared with 57% of all consumers. Older generations are also seeking change, with 45% of 55-74-year-olds saying system improvements would encourage them to move.
Santander is calling on the Government and regulators to implement a series of measures aimed at modernising the homebuying process, including:
Mandating digitisation across all stakeholders
Disincentivising illegitimate gazumping and gazundering
Requiring better up-front information disclosure from all parties
Creating a government-owned, centralised property data system
Improving data sharing through Open Property
Incentivising the use of AI
Taking a long-term approach to support market activity
“Buying a first home or moving to accommodate a growing family should be a moment of joy, but, for too many young people, it’s become an exhausting and uncertain ordeal that puts huge pressure on their finances and family life, let alone their mental health," explained David Morris, head of homes at Santander UK. "This absolutely should not be the case for a transaction that constitutes one of their biggest financial commitments.”
He added, “We need to act to make it easier for people of all ages to buy and sell so we can get the market moving, that’s why we’re calling for a number of simple yet powerful reforms, which would give buyers and sellers more confidence, ease the financial and emotional strain and create a housing system fit for the next generation.”
