Almost half (49%) of aspiring buyers are tackling affordability challenges by ‘home hustling their way to ownership’, finding new and innovative ways to save for a deposit, Santander reveals.
Seven in 10 aspiring buyers say that home ownership is difficult for young people today with 77% believing that the previous generations had an easier time saving for a home.
The top three challenges are cited as cost of housing (78%), increased cost of living (75%) and high deposit requirements (59%).
In addition, 28% say they can’t rely on financial support from family to help them purchase a first home.
Despite the challenging environment, the ambition to own a home remains a priority for 72% prospective first-time buyers.
As a result, 49% are now combatting affordability struggles by turning to unusual sources of secondary income to boost their deposit and ‘home hustle’ their way to ownership.
The impact of home hustling is evident with the average ‘hustler’ earning £442.62 per month in exchange for an estimated seven hours work per week.
Returns can be even higher, with 12% hustlers reporting they earn more than £1000 a month.
Nearly two thirds (64%) save most or all of their hustle income towards building a deposit.
Popular home hustles include 39% responding to surveys, 20% gardening, 19% selling personalised items, 18% selling home baking and 17% dog walking.
Many also report that they would put away the entirety of any bonus or pay rise (24%), take up savings challenges such as the penny a day or the envelope challenge (23%), or skill swapping with friends.
Meanwhile, 23% have sold childhood collectibles, including Beanie Babies or Pokémon cards to boost their deposit savings.
Santander says while many are beginning to find innovative ways to overcome their savings struggles, there are common beliefs holding other first-time buyers back from exploring homeownership.
Data from Santander shows one in five (19%) first-time buyers believe they need a minimum of £50,000 to buy their first home, while a similar number (17%) believe the maximum LTV available to them is 95%.
A quarter (26%) of first-time buyers also believe their affordability has got worse in the last 12 months.
Santander director of mortgages David Morris says: “Home hustling is just one-way would-be buyers are boosting their income streams, expediating the time it takes to save for a deposit, stamp duty and legal costs as they take back control of their homeownership journey. But it’s clear that many common misconceptions still exist.”
“This is where mortgage brokers provide invaluable support for first-time buyers, helping them to see behind the interest rates and headlines, and understand what options are available to them.”
