Mojo Mortgages first-time buyer sentiment survey 2026

Entering the UK property market is no longer a simple financial milestone, but a complex socio-economic hurdle. We spoke to 1,000 first-time buyers across the country about their thoughts, feelings, savings, and sacrifices that they're doing to get onto the property ladder.

Check out our findings below.

education failure

Education failure

  • Nearly 80% of UK first time buyers think that The UK education system failed to prepare me for the reality of mortgages, interest rates, and home ownership

  • Interestingly nearly 37% of men vs 45% of women strongly agree

  • 35% of 55+ strongly agreed versus nearly half (49%) of 18-24 year olds.

  • Scotland and North West are top 2 regions that voted most highly that they strongly agreed with this statement 

Social media influence

  • Over 52% of first-time buyers said they are/have browsing "out of reach" properties as a form of "digital window shopping" at least once a week with 14.4% saying this is a daily occurrence 

  • 25-34 year-olds are worst for this with nearly 58% admitting to doing this at least once a week - (just under 17% said daily)

  • 47% of first-time buyers are re-calculating their monthly mortgage affordability based on the latest news

  • 29.8% say they often Feel 'House Envy' after seeing friends or influencers post their homes (rises to 45% including those that said they always feel this way

  • 16% say they are always comparing your budget to the 'perfect' homes shown on social media with a further 31.3% saying they do this ‘often’

  • Half of first-time buyers admit to always/often searching for the price/value of a home they saw on their social feed - 19% of women said they always did vs. 14% of men 

  • 45.5% said they either often or always check property apps immediately after seeing someone else's "We Got the Keys" post

  • 19.3% (1 in 5) of 25-34 y/os said they always: Comparing your budget to the 'perfect' homes shown on social media

Lifetime ISA
The Side Hustle Economy

The side hustle economy

  • Nearly 64% of people said they have a side hustle that contributes towards saving for house deposit or savings 

  • Over half (53%) say it would have taken them 2-3 years more to get on the property ladder without this side hustle. Nearly 72% said between 2-5 years more. 

  • 18 - 24 year olds are hustling the hardest - nearly 72% have side hustles to contribute towards a house deposit/savings

Non-romantic co-buying

  • Nearly 18% said they’d consider buying with a close friend to get on the property ladder (comment on how times are changing and get case study for this!) 

  • 22% of 18-24 year olds said they would consider buying with a close friend compared to 14% of 35-44 y/o’s and 15% of 45-54 y/o’s

  • Over a quarter (25.37%) of 45-54 year olds would only consider buying alone compared to just 12.2% of Gen Z (18-24)

Non-Romantic Co-buying
toxic job

Major life sacrifices

Saving for a home has led to significant life delays:

  • 36.9% rented longer than planned

  • 21.7% stayed in a toxic job to maintain savings

  • and 19.3% delayed starting a family.

Secret spending habits

  • Over a quarter (25.5%) have 'downplayed' spending habits (e.g., hiding shopping bags or deleting betting apps)

  • This is highest among 25-34 year olds (29.7%) - Just under a third

  • 25% said they have / had a secret savings account they don't know about

  • 18.4% said they have hidden debt (credit cards/loans) from them

  • And 13.2% said they have lied about my true salary or bonus

  • 25-34 year olds have the most ‘money secrets’ of any age group surveyed (67.7%) versus 55+ who had the least with just under 55% admitting to have some sort of hidden spending habits

  • Over 64% of men said they have money secrets versus 58.6% of women 

spending habits
retirement

Mortgage into retirement

  • Over 52% of people believe they will be paying off mortgage until retirement (65). Less than a third (29.9%) said no.

  • Nearly 56% of women think they will be paying it over until retirement versus 48% of men 

  • Those aged 18-24 are most confident that they wont be paying it off until retirement age (34%) compared to just 20% of those aged 45-54

See more about our recent findings

Why 37% of Lifetime ISA owners are settling for less

The cost of crossing the Lifetime ISA threshold.

Media enquiries

For media enquiries please contact hannah.sheaf@mojomortgages.com