By, Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgages & Housing, BSA

First-time buyers have long been one of the most complex, and often underserved, groups in the mortgage market. While the desire for homeownership remains strong, confidence among aspiring buyers is fragile and many are ruling themselves out before fully understanding what is possible.

New research from the Building Societies Association (BSA) highlights a persistent disconnect between perception and reality for first-time buyers. A significant proportion have never spoken to a lender or mortgage broker, and many have not sought advice in the past year. Without professional guidance, buyers are making assumptions about affordability, deposit requirements and eligibility that do not reflect the full breadth of options which are available to them. 

Perceptions versus reality

This matters, because when first-time buyers are shown examples of existing building society mortgages that require low and no deposit, the picture changes. A clear majority say they could buy sooner than they expected. That shift in expectation underlines the critical role brokers play in helping buyers move from uncertainty, and potentially defeatism, towards informed achievable action.

The challenge brokers see every day is not a lack of aspiration, but a lack of understanding.  Affordability and saving for a deposit continue to dominate buyer concerns and shape perceptions of what is achievable. On average aspiring homeowners think it will take six and a half years before buying, and a third believe homeownership may never be achievable for them. Crucially these views are often formed before any meaningful conversation with a lender or broker has taken place.

The difference between a buyer giving up and a buyer progressing is often not lack of income, savings or intent, but access to lending that responds to their specific circumstances, rather than a rigid or automated set of requirements. For brokers, this is where their advice adds the most value. 

Greater innovation and flexibility from building societies

Building societies are the original mortgage disruptors, specialising in tailored solutions. For more than 250 years, the sector has focused on ordinary working people rather than algorithms, and that approach remains at the core of how societies support first-time buyers today. Across the UK, building societies collectively account for almost four in ten first-time buyer mortgages, with particularly strong support for buyers with smaller deposits, non-linear careers or other non-standard characteristics.

What distinguishes building societies for brokers is not a single product feature, but the breadth and flexibility of the propositions across the sector. Low-deposits, higher income multiples, shared ownership, credit repair, irregular incomes, flexible payments and other tailored approaches are designed to respond to the realities facing the modern first-time buyer.

This creates genuine choice. Rather than forcing buyers into rigid affordability boxes, building society lending can support more nuanced conversations about how and when homeownership might be possible. That flexibility allows brokers to match clients with solutions that fit their circumstances, risk profile and longer-term plans.

Importantly, this is not about stretching borrowers or increasing risk appetites. Responsible lending remains at the heart of the building society model. The focus is on understanding the borrower, assessing affordability realistically and supporting sustainable homeownership. For brokers, that aligns closely with the advice-led approach required in today’s market.

Think again to move aspiration to action

The BSA’s first-time buyer campaign is built around a simple message: Think Again. Think again before assuming homeownership is out of reach. Think again before dismissing buyers who do not fit the ‘typical’ profile. And think again about the role building societies can play in supporting first-time buyer clients.

Reviewing lender panels and exploring the range of building society propositions is not just about product diversity. It is about ensuring first-time buyers are given a fair opportunity to understand what is possible based on their real circumstances, rather than headline assumptions.

We must change the narrative for first-time buyers, and with that comes an opportunity for brokers. As the first trusted voice many buyers hear, brokers can combine professional advice with the flexibility and innovation offered by building societies, to help more aspiring buyers to find a route onto the housing ladder that is realistic, responsible and right for each individual client. For many, that could be the difference between aspiration and action.

This article was first published in Mortgage Strategy