One-in-six hope to be mortgage free by age 40 – as over two-thirds make overpayments

• TSB’s quarterly mortgage report focuses on overpayments – as 57 percent hope to shave time off mortgages
• Over  two- thirds (67%) of first-time buyers are making overpayments
• First-time buyers are prioritising becoming mortgage free (68%) over boosting pension pots (25%)
• TSB data: Average age of first-time buyers, and average mortgage term both down a year, to 31
• The South East and Scotland (16%) had most mortgage completions, with East Anglia (4%) and  Wales (5%) the fewest

Just over one-in-six (17%) first-time buyers¹ surveyed, who purchased a property in the last five years hope to be mortgage free before 40 – as TSB finds over two-thirds (67%)² are making mortgage overpayments.

Censuswide³ surveyed just over 1,000 first-time buyers who had recently purchased – and almost three-fifths (57%) hope to shave time off their mortgage term. Of those that have made overpayments, over two-fifths (43%) make them monthly.

One-in-five people (20%) make overpayments between £200-299 each time; one-in-six (17%) pay £300-399 – and TSB found that just under one-in-10 (9%) make lump sum payments between £1,000-2,499 to get ahead on their mortgage.

To shorten their length of mortgage, TSB found recent first-time buyers are (or plan to be) saving more (57%), budgeting more strictly (55%), taking a second job (29%), forgoing holidays and lifestyle spend (29%) -  and reducing pension contributions (18%). Just three percent said they are not taking any steps to reduce their mortgage term.

Almost seven-in-10 (68%) said that paying down their mortgage is a bigger priority than boosting their pension pot (25%).

For the third (33%) of first-time buyers not making overpayments, the main barrier was affordability (47%), followed by preferring to keep a safety buffer (28%), saving for a family (22%), job security concerns (19%), and prioritising the now, with holidays and lifestyle spend (18%).

Highlights from TSB first-time buyer Q3 report (tables below)

TSB also analysed its first-time buyer data for Q3⁴ and found that both the average mortgage term, and average age of first-time buyers has reduced from 32, to 31.

London maintained the highest average age of first-time buyers, at 33 – with Wales and Scotland the lowest, at 30.

The South East (16%) and Scotland (16%) had the most first-time buyer completions, followed by the North West (11%).

East Anglia (4%), Wales (5%) and East Midlands (7%) accounted for the fewest.

Showing the gap between London and parts of the UK – the average value of a deposit was £134,000 in London, compared to £17,000 in the North East, and £24,000 in Wales.

Craig Calder, Director of Mortgages, TSB, said:

“Recent first-time buyers are prioritising overpayments over building up savings, pension contributions, and holidays, in the hope of becoming mortgage free earlier in life.

“Overpaying can be a great way of shaving years off your mortgage, and we’d advise building this into your wider financial plan that ensures money confidence across savings, budgeting and a pension.”

- Ends -

Notes to editors

1. The average age for this group, via polling, is 30
2.  ‘Yes, I've always done this’ and ‘Yes, but I've not always done this’ answers combined
3. The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1,001 First time buyers with a mortgage who have bought in the past 5 years (18+). The data was collected between 03.10.2025 - 10.10.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
4. TSB analysed customer data for first-time buyers, comparing Q3 2025 with Q3 2024

FTB Average age

FTB Average Term (Years)

FTB Average value of deposit (excluding discounted schemes*)

*Excludes discounted schemes where the customer can borrow up to 100% of the discounted price and therefore putting down a £0 deposit

FTB Average Deposit % (excluding discounted schemes*)

FTB completions split by region