18 March 2026
If you are covering Rightmove's new data, which shows that there is the highest ever price gap between first-time buyer and second-stepper home, please see the following comment from Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter:
“Rightmove’s numbers show a housing ladder that is becoming almost impossible to climb. A 52% jump from a typical first‑time buyer home to a three or four‑bed property was already a stretch, but the latest rise in mortgage rates, driven by the escalation in the Middle East pushing oil prices higher, is making that leap even tougher. Higher funding costs feed directly into mortgage pricing, and that removes many buyers from the running before they even start.
"Traditionally, people moved into bigger homes as their families grew. That pattern is breaking down. Buyers now need almost £24,000 of extra equity just to maintain a 20% deposit, and in regions like the South East the gap reaches 61%. Many households simply cannot make the move when children arrive, which inevitably shapes decisions about family size and contributes to the UK’s broader demographic pressures.
"The flat versus house divide is widening too. With flat prices rising only 8% over the past decade compared with 34% for houses, many owners lack the equity they expected. Combined with higher mortgage rates, the numbers no longer work for a large share of would‑be second‑steppers. Until borrowing costs stabilise and the price gap narrows, this part of the market is likely to remain blocked, with consequences that extend well beyond housing.”
