In 2007 the proportion taking out a 35-year term was 16%, yet by 2015 that figure grew to one in four.
A quarter of first-time buyers are taking out 35-year mortgages to spread their costs over a longer-term, Halifax research has claimed.
In 2007 the proportion taking out a 35-year term was 16%, yet by 2015 that figure grew to one in four (26%).
Over the same period the share of mortgages with a 20-25-year term fell from 48% to 30%.
Halifax put the first-time buyer count at 310,000 in 2015, a slight drop from 311,700 the year before.
Mortgage affordability has radically improved since the summer of 2007 when first-time buyers typically spent 50% of their income on mortgage payments. That figure now stands at 32%.
Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at Halifax, said: "For the second year in succession, the number of buyers getting on the first rung of the housing ladder has reached 310,000.
“Although the average price of the typical first-time buyer home has grown by 10% in the past year, the number of buyers taking that first step onto the housing ladder has been supported by favourable economic conditions; namely, record low mortgage rates, rising employment and real pay growth.”
