Last month, the Building Societies Association (BSA) revealed that that almost half (47%) of people who want to buy their own home have never spoken to a lender or mortgage broker to check what options are available to them.

During Friday’s meeting, Reeves heard how building societies are supporting people with smaller deposits, complex incomes and non-traditional work patters, and she lent her support to their campaign for aspiring homebuyers to think again about what might be possible.

The Chancellor says: “For too long, homeownership has felt out of reach for young people.”

“We’re changing that by building 1.5 million new homes this Parliament and reforming mortgage rules so more first-time buyers can get the keys to their first home. I welcome the Building Societies Association’s work to help people understand the options available to them.”

Building societies now provide 35% of all first-time buyer lending. Nearly half (46%) of this lending goes to borrowers under 30, almost a quarter (23%) supports buyers with deposits of less than 5%, and one-in-ten (10%) helps first-time buyers aged over 45.

BSA chief executive Sarah Harrison comments: “We welcome the Chancellor’s support for our “think again” campaign and the opportunity to discuss with her how building societies are helping first-time-buyers across the country – and how with her support we can do even more.”

“Too many people assume homeownership is out of reach without ever checking what is available to them. Building societies were set up to help ordinary working people buy their own homes, and that hasn’t changed.”

“Whether it’s a smaller deposit, flexible ways of looking at income and affordability, or support for people whose circumstances aren’t straightforward, there are more options onto the property ladder than many first-time buyers realise.”

“It’s worth anyone thinking about buying their own home to have a chat with a building society or mortgage broker, it could be the difference between thinking ‘maybe one day’ to ‘why not now’.”