The Government’s decision to make the mortgage guarantee scheme permanent is a welcome move at a time when home ownership has felt increasingly out of reach for many younger people.
As both a professional working closely with the conveyancing sector and a parent to two children in their late 20s who are now considering taking their first steps onto the property ladder, I understand the frustrations felt by would-be buyers all too well.
The challenge of home ownership is no longer about willingness or aspiration, but about accessibility and affordability. High deposit requirements, sluggish wage growth, and rising house prices have made buying a home, especially that crucial first one, an uphill climb. While the new Freedom to Buy initiative doesn’t resolve all these issues, it does provide a practical tool to reduce one of the most immediate barriers: the deposit.
The ability for buyers to access 95% loan-to-value mortgages, now with the confidence of long-term backing from the Treasury, will likely boost both buyer sentiment and lender participation. This should mean more young people are in a position to move forward with confidence, particularly those who are financially stable but simply unable to accumulate a large deposit.
That said, it’s not a silver bullet. The Government must still do more to address the broader issues stifling the housing market, not least the distortion caused by ever-changing stamp duty thresholds, which in my view remain one of the least effective and most damaging taxes in the system. Still, any move that provides a stepping stone to home ownership, particularly for first-time buyers, deserves recognition.
I see first hand how much appetite there is from first-time buyers through our conveyancing comparison platform, F4LPlus, which allows prospective buyers, many of whom are navigating the property process for the first time, to compare solicitors based on location, reviews, service levels and price.
Since launching, the platform has helped generate over 42,000 quotes, representing more than £5 million in conveyancing business, and a significant proportion of that has come from first-time buyers. In fact, 66% of our users fall into this category, and we’ve seen a slight upward trend over the last six months (3%), signalling growing digital confidence and demand in this space.
This is important context for conveyancing firms. Today’s buyers, particularly younger ones, are no longer relying solely on recommendations or estate agent referrals. They are actively comparing, researching and selecting legal providers online, looking for firms that not only offer good value but can guide them through a complicated and often overwhelming process with clarity and care.
As the Freedom to Buy scheme matures, we expect this digital-first, customer-led behaviour to grow. Firms that embrace transparency, responsiveness and visibility online will be best positioned to serve this next generation of homeowners.
In summary, this initiative from the Government is a step in the right direction, but for it to truly succeed, the wider market must continue to adapt to the changing expectations of buyers, and to a world where convenience, comparison and confidence now play a central role in legal service selection.
Nick Delaney is group chief commercial officer at First4Lawyers
