First-time buyers receive £11.0bn in financial support from families in 2025 – Savills
The research found gifts were the most common form of support, with 32% of buyers receiving them compared to 16% who took family loans.
Savills has reported that first-time buyers (FTBs) received £11.0bn in financial support from families in 2025, including gifts, loans and inheritance.
More than half of FTBs relied on family help to get onto the property ladder, with many drawing support from relatives beyond parents.
The research found gifts were the most common form of support, with 32% of buyers receiving them compared to 16% who took family loans.
Nearly half of those getting help benefited from contributions from grandparents and other family members.
Inheritance accounted for £2.7 billion of support, with 14% of FTBs using inherited wealth to fund deposits, slightly above the number using Government schemes.
The average FTB used £24,261 of their own savings, making up 44% of the deposit, with the rest coming from family and other sources.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “First-time buyers continue to feel the impact of higher mortgage rates, which has stretched affordability and kept the average deposit high and maintained a reliance on the so-called Bank of Mum and Dad.
“While first-time buyer activity held up better than expected in the early part of the year, the outlook remains challenging in the current interest rate environment.
“Less stringent mortgage regulation and gradual easing of rates over time should help to broaden access to home ownership to a degree.”
Cook added: “While that will pave the way for more lower deposit mortgages, it’s clear that family support will remain a crucial component of getting first-time buyers on the housing ladder.”
The research also found younger buyers were most likely to receive financial help, with 63% of first-time buyers aged 20–24 getting support, compared to 44% of buyers aged 45 and over.
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