Working your way up the property ladder has been a rite of passage for decades - buying a studio, trading it in for a small flat then finally owning a terraced property – but what if your first home was your forever home?
This is now the reality for thousands of first-time buyers who are jumping into homeownership with two feet. The fashion for one home - the forever home - was highlighted in the latest Barclays Property Insights report.
Semi-detached: the new starter home?
When the bank looked at data from its latest round of mortgage lending, it found an increase in first-time buyers opting for bigger properties than you would traditionally expect. The figures revealed 33.5% of first-time buyer homes bought in August 2025 were semi-detached, which is a 1.7% increase over the last year. Flats, on the other hand, were bought by first-time buyers less frequently, declining in popularity by 2.7% in the last 12 months.
Starting with a forever home they can grow in to appear popular with the very youngest buyers. The report said 33% of recent Gen Z buyers (those aged between 18 and 27) purchased a forever home so they wouldn’t have to move. In fact, many buyers are looking long term, with 27% of all recent purchasers intending to stay in their new home for at least 10 years.
Going spare
This aspect may explain why data analysis conducted by the Nationwide discovered 87% of owner-occupied properties in England have at least one spare bedroom, with 53% classed as ‘underoccupied’ because they have two or more spare bedrooms – figures that have been steadily increasing.
The Barclays report went on to detail how forever homes are part of longer term plans held by first-time buyers. First time ‘forever homes’ dovetail with a predisposition for longer-duration mortgages, which allow people to borrow a larger amount of money and spread the repayment cost over a number of years.
Borrow more for longer
Figures released in June 2025 by banking trade body UK Finance revealed first-time buyers are taking out mortgages with an average 31 year repayment schedule. This has increased from the 28 year average noted 10 years ago.
At TSB, first-time buyers are making repayments over an average of 32 years. Research by Barclays found 4 in 10 novice borrowers this August opted for mortgages with a repayment term of 30 years or more.
Upgrading from the usual 25 year repayment term is becoming more popular for a number of reasons. As well as striving for a bigger first property, mortgage rates that sit just above the 10 year average and increasing house prices are making 30+ year mortgage terms more attractive.
When Barclays asked its borrowers why they opted for a longer-term mortgage, 37% felt 30-40-year terms were more desirable than shorter durations as they resulted in lower monthly repayments. Although this is true, these so-called ‘marathon mortgages’ do come with a warning. Buyers looking at 30+ year mortgage terms should bear in mind they will be paying back more interest over time.
Remortgage to reduce
That said, borrowers are free to reduce their term when they remortgage – choosing a shorter duration that suits circumstances - or by overpaying the mortgage to reduce the debt that interest is applied to. These are common options for first-time buyers when they are in a more secure financial position.
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