| Over half of fist-time buyers relied on family financial help in 2024 to get a foot on the ladder | BoMaD support averaged £55,572 per buyer across 173,500 transactions | Falling mortgage rates may reduce reliance on family, but not eliminate it altogether |
More than half of first-time buyers relied on family to get on the property ladder last year, according to new research1 from Savills. The estate agents reported the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ (BoMaD) contributed around £9.6bn in loans and gifts, supporting 173,500 homebuyers, worth an average of £55,572 each.
Savills’ estimates are based on data covering first-time buyer numbers, loan-to-value ratios and survey responses on family support. The figures include contributions not just from parents but from grandparents and other relatives too. The report highlights the increasingly vital role that intergenerational support plays in the UK housing market. With affordability stretched in many parts of the country, access to family money has been a key factor in homeownership for younger generations.
There are expectations that with Bank Rate and mortgage rates falling, and lenders generally relaxing their affordability rules allowing buyers to borrow more, the support provided by BoMaD will likely fall to lower levels.
Head of Residential Research at Savills, Lucian Cook, said “Relaxation of mortgage stress tests is expected to boost borrowing by lowering the barrier for entry and allowing first-time buyers to qualify for larger mortgages. So, although more first-time buyer activity may mean more Bank of Mum and Dad assistance, this is likely to be at a lower average cost per first-time buyer.”
1Savills, 2025
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