A third of ‘second steppers’ still need help to buy

NEARLY a third of people aiming to take their second step on the property ladder are still relying on help from the “bank of mum and dad” or other loved ones, research has found.

Some 32% of people hoping to make the jump from their first home think they will still rely on financial help from family members or friends, according to the Lloyds Bank Second Steppers report.

While 17% of second steppers plan to raise money for their next move from parents, a further 9% are relying on grandparents and 6% think friends will help them out financially.

Those considering turning to family members to help them out are typically looking to borrow more than £20,000, the research found.

Nearly a quarter (23%) of first-time sellers said they would have children later in life than originally planned, while 12% said they would have few- er children than originally planned, while they experienced the challenges that first-time sellers face.

While over half (56%) said the challenges had made no impact on their social or personal circumstances, 13% have had to, or would have to, change their career as a result.

Of those who require financial help from their parents, nearly half (47%) believe that their parents have had to make sacrifices in order to help them move up the property ladder.

Lloyds’s report found that the price difference between a typical first time buyer home and a second stepper’s ideal home, typically a detached property, was £126,000.

But, with house prices having risen strongly in some parts of the UK in recent years, would-be second steppers were sitting on an average of £105,068 of equity in their first home.

One in four second steppers surveyed thought it was now harder to move up the property ladder than to get on it in the first place. Just over two-fifths (41%) of those surveyed had been overpaying their mortgage to increase their equity.

More than 500 people from across the UK who had previously bought their first home and are now looking to take their second step on the property ladder took part in the survey.