David Hollingworth says reform could unlock movement at every level of the property ladder, not just the bottom
The average first-time buyer in the UK is now 33 years old before getting onto the property ladder, according to data from L&C Mortgages, but stamp duty reform is among the changes that could meaningfully shift that figure.
David Hollingworth (pictured top), associate director at L&C Mortgages, believes the age will keep rising unless the tax and savings environment shifts in buyers' favour.
Buying later carries real consequences. Larger loan amounts combined with later starts mean mortgages increasingly run up against traditional retirement ages, creating an ongoing advisory challenge across the life of a client relationship.
"When you couple that with the fact that having to borrow a larger amount often means that first-time buyers are also taking the mortgage over a longer term, then of course you do start to butt up against what might traditionally have been the expected retirement age," Hollingworth told Mortgage Introducer. "That's an active conversation for brokers as they move from first mortgage through to next mortgage and beyond."
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Saving while renting and stamp duty keep pushing buyers later
The challenge of accumulating a deposit while managing rent and rising living costs is one Hollingworth described as structural. With energy bills rising again heading into winter, the pressure on aspiring buyers shows no sign of easing.
"Some of the numbers that you're looking at, trying to save as well as paying rent, and we're just going into a period where cost of utilities is rising again, it doesn't get any easier for aspiring first-time buyers," he said.
Hollingworth pointed to the importance of government-backed savings incentives. The Lifetime ISA is expected to be superseded by a new First-Time Buyer ISA, and he said clarity on what that product will look like cannot come soon enough. "Initiatives like that are really important because the sooner that aspiring buyers start saving, even if it's relatively small amounts, if they're just doing that on a regular basis, it will start to add up over time," he said. "When you start coupling that with the improved mortgage options, then you start to have a slightly more positive picture. Fewer people will give up on buying altogether."
Prime minister Andy Burnham announced the Your First Home scheme last month, offering first-time buyers in England a 20% government-backed equity loan on new-build homes with deposits from 2.5%. Full details are expected at the Budget on 28 October.
Stamp duty: a barrier at both ends of the ladder
It is on stamp duty, however, that Hollingworth was most direct. The first-time buyer relief threshold was lowered from £425,000 to £300,000 in April 2025 – a move he was surprised the government allowed to happen. "You did have a higher limit on that only a few years ago," he said. "I was quite surprised that they didn't just retain that level and allowed it to revert to the previous position."
Under the current system, first-time buyers pay no stamp duty on the first £300,000 of a purchase, with relief cut off entirely above £500,000. Hollingworth argued the case for removing the tax for first-time buyers altogether. "Could you remove stamp duty and just take that away?" he said. "If you remove it altogether, it just would help give more clarity to first-time buyers who may feel like they're years away from being in a position to buy."
The argument for reform extends beyond first-time buyers. Stamp duty relief for downsizers has long been discussed as a route to releasing housing stock across the whole market. "Even if you go right away through to downsizers, you could potentially help to free those purchases up, which would help even in the middle," Hollingworth said. "You've got growing families further down the lifecycle looking to move into bigger family homes, which may currently be occupied by owners who would traditionally have expected to have downsized years ago."
The political appetite for change has effectively been closed off in the near term. Burnham ruled out any stamp duty changes at the Autumn Budget in July, telling reporters: "Yes, I can say that quite clearly. That won't be happening." With the Budget to be announced later this month, Hollingworth's call for reform arrives knowing the door is shut for now. "It often comes up as the Budget approaches, and we've not got any major hints that there'll be movement," he said. "People just feel it's money for nothing."
First-time buyers remain resilient despite rate volatility
Despite those barriers, Hollingworth said the strength of first-time buyer demand through a period of sustained rate volatility had genuinely surprised him. First-time buyers have continued to make up a significant share of UK purchase activity even as mortgage rates have moved sharply.
"The appetite doesn't die away," he said. "It shows you what the alternative is, and people don't really want to rent for the long term."
A generational shift may partly explain it. "People have acclimatised to where interest rates are at the moment," Hollingworth said. "Prior to that, you had a generation who'd just been used to ultra-low interest rates, so that had become the norm. Those coming to the market now are looking at it and thinking, well, this is how it's been, up and down a little bit, for some time now."
The previous generation, he noted, had been holding out for rates to fall back below 1–2% – an outcome that does not look likely any time soon.
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