The Intermediary – October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 12
Q&A
Skipton Building Society
The Intermediary speaks with Lucy Lewis, senior national
accounts and first-time buyer lead at Skipton Building
Society, about affordability and innovation
What are the key findings from the
Homes Affordability Index?
98% of adults living with parents still can’t afford
to buy the average first-time home in their local
area based on their financial situation. Most
people assume that moving back in or staying put
at the family home means it’s easier, but it’s not
just saving for a deposit that could be stopping
first-time buyers getting on to the property
ladder. There are also a number of other housing
affordability challenges they may be facing.
We want to use the data in the Skipton Group
Homes Affordability Index to educate people on
the affordability issues facing first-time buyers
and hopefully drive some positive change –
whether that’s through lobbying or using the
research to inform our product offering.
What is different about Skipton?
Our purpose is the same now as 172 years ago
when the building society was founded: to help
people into homes. This remains the driving force
behind our innovation and focus.
We use technology where we can, to improve
the journey for brokers and customers, allowing
our colleagues to focus their attention on the
areas that need a human touch, that aren’t
always straightforward. This is so important in
the current market, as people looking for advice
have very different needs and circumstances – a
one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate.
When a client’s situation is more complicated,
it can help to speak to someone who’ll take a
common-sense approach. We have an amazing
team of both field and telephone BDMs across
the UK. They have direct access to underwriters
and will work to understand the client’s unique
situation and discuss this with our senior
underwriters to look at the positives of the
case and see if we can help. We take a flexible,
common-sense approach to lending, as well as
having a range of innovative products.
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The Intermediary | October 2025
How is Skipton driving innovation?
First-time buyers are vital to the homebuying
landscape, and yet, too many people in the UK
struggle to afford their own home. We look for
areas where we can help the underserved and
solve challenges for brokers and their customers.
Moving into a first home can be expensive. Our
research shows that 71% of first-time buyers say
the process cost a lot more than they expected,
with 63% saying they felt financially strained in
the first three months. 35% had an overlap with
their rental, meaning they were simultaneously
paying a mortgage and rent. We wanted to
provide an option to ease the strain, so we
launched our Delayed Start mortgage product,
designed to give some breathing space to firsttime buyers, with no mortgage repayments due
for the first three months. Don’t worry – as the
repayments aren’t due, there’s no impact to
credit ratings. (Must be 21+. Only available in GB.
Subject to eligibility and lending criteria.)
Two of the biggest challenges for first-time
buyers are affordability and deposit, especially if
you’re also paying rental on a monthly basis. We
have provided options for both those situations
with our income booster mortgage, which allows
family and friends to be included on the mortgage
application to help with affordability, and our
track record mortgage – targeted at renters who
haven’t owned a property in the past three years
and have little or no deposit.
It’s key that lenders continue to innovate to
help first-time buyers realise their dreams. We’ve
seen some great innovation from lenders in this
area in 2025, with more lenders launching joint
borrower, sole proprietor (JBSP) mortgages – a
great way for prospective buyers to boost their
income with help from a family member or friend
– increased options for new-builds and flats at
high loan-to-values (LTVs), and some new lenders
joining Skipton by providing options to borrowers
with less than a 5% deposit.
But it’s not just down to lenders. The Building
Societies Association (BSA) has highlighted the
