In response to the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget Statement which announced the First Time Buyer ISA, Nick Leeming, Chairman of Jackson-Stops, comments:

“Helping more people into homeownership is an ambition we should all support, and the Government’s plans to introduce a First Time Buyer ISA and address the Lifetime ISA penalty, alongside the new Your First Home scheme, are steps towards improving access to the property market. But a smaller deposit does not make the wider affordability challenge disappear. Any new support must work for buyers beyond the day they receive the keys, with mortgage repayments and equity-loan costs they can sustain.

“Our research estimates that 4.5 million UK adults aged 55 and over have helped a relative buy their first home. Family support can make a significant difference for those fortunate enough to receive it, but not everyone has access to this. Nor does that help come without trade-offs, an estimated 660,000 older adults used money intended for their own retirement to support a relative’s property purchase.

“Getting buyers onto the first rung of the housing ladder is only part of the equation. Today’s first-time buyers are tomorrow’s second-steppers, and they need a market they can move within as their circumstances change. Stamp duty remains a substantial upfront cost for growing families and downsizers; support for new buyers must sit alongside measures that enable existing homeowners to move.”