This is according to new research from the Nottingham Building Society (The Nottingham) which found less eating out and spending on clothes meant would-be buyers have built up their savings quicker than planned.
The survey comes just after Nationwide revealed one of the reasons for the property market boom was because buyers had been able to save more money during the lockdowns put in place to prevent the spread of Covid.
Iain Kirkpatrick, chief customer Officer at The Nottingham, said: “The restrictions placed on people during the height of the pandemic saw many dramatically cut back on the amount they spent – from eating out, to buying new clothes and holidays.
“Although it has been a very difficult time, for many of those saving for their first home the reduction in their expenditure provided an opportunity to dramatically increase their deposit savings and move a step closer to owning their own home.”
Getting on the ladder
Of those surveyed one in five (19%) of those planning to buy their first home in the next five years will have deposits saved this year.
Meanwhile one in three (32%) will be viewing properties in 2022 and around one in ten (8%) first-time buyers have already started house hunting.
The Nottingham said one in four (28%) expected to start viewing properties in the next two to three years, and 25% within the next three to five. The remainder don’t know when they will start viewing.
In terms of what those planning to buy their first home have done to help save for this earlier than expected, 60% have spent less on clothes and 56% have made sacrifices when it comes to eating out.
Just over half cut their spend on holidays and 16% have more than one paid job to help save their deposit, The Nottingham’s survey found.
