Attention Second-Steppers: It’s Better Than You Think

15th March 2017

So you’ve got your foot on the property ladder - but what happens next? Is the property market any easier to navigate for people who’ve already crossed the first hurdle?

This is the question that a recent survey from Lloyds bank posed to the UK’s ‘second-steppers’ - successful first-time buyers looking to make their next move.

The overwhelming response showed a lot of frustration and uncertainty about the property market, with 39% of second-steppers believing that selling a home in 2017 will be significantly more difficult than it was 12 months ago.

The good news is that these worries are mostly unfounded - the property market has actually significantly improved across the UK over the past 6 years, and shows no sign of slowing down.

Nonetheless, many second-steppers find their lives outgrowing their starter homes, and are concerned that their equity is insufficient to move on.

We don’t want anyone to feel held back from making their next move. To help inspire confidence in the property market, we’ve set out to show that second-steppers are far more likely to succeed in moving up the ladder than they think.

Why are second steppers so worried?

The report shows that 26% of second-steppers are worried about the uncertain economic climate in the lead-up to Brexit, while 29% are concerned about the cost of deposits. Meanwhile, 32% of second-steppers are struggling to find the right property.

The majority of these homeowners are young professional couples and new families, ready to increase the size of their homes or move to a new area in readiness for their next big steps in life.

We know that starting a family is no small investment in itself, so we’re keen to show second-steppers there’s no time like the present to take the plunge, put their houses on the market, and take advantage of our local expertise to find their dream homes.

34% of potential second-steppers are now considering making improvements to their current homes rather than moving, which has an impact on the next generation of first-time buyers. The fewer starter-home owners who take the next step, the fewer starter homes will be available.

In order to keep the property market in a positive place for first time buyers and second steppers alike, we need to raise awareness about the options out there and support potential sellers in taking the plunge.

What opportunities are available?

Contrary to popular opinion, the property market is more favourable to today’s second steppers than it was to them as first-time buyers.

The typical second-stepper bought their first home around 2012, at an average cost of £140,004. In comparison, the average first-time buyer property today costs £205,723. This would leave second steppers with an average equity of £105,068, taking into account house price growth, initial deposit and mortgage repayment.

This is a dramatic increase on 2012’s average equity of £23,643, and comes to around 32% of what an average three-bedroom second stepper home costs.

The report suggested that the average second stepper has a gap of £126,000 between the value of their current property and the cost of their ideal home. With this high average equity level, however, this gap could be reduced by up to 83%, meaning that only £21,000 would need to be added to an existing mortgage.

That’s not to mention that UK mortgage rates are at a record low this year, and home affordability is steadily improving. All in all, second-steppers dream homes are closer than they think.

How can we help?

If you’re a second stepper, your future on the property ladder is brighter than you think. With the right estate agent on your side, you can get a better feel for your local property market and put your house on the market with confidence, knowing that we’ll take care of everything from mortgage advice to helping you find the perfect second-stepper home for your budget.

If you’re on the fence about taking the next step on the property ladder, contact our local property experts today for a free valuation of your property, independent financial advice, and a friendly discussion of your second-stepper options.

Testimonials

  • It was an amazing experience, everyone involved were fantastic. 

    Mr & Mrs Knight Woodingdean

  • From start to finish the sale was dealt with in a thoroughly professional manner.  

    Mr Gibbs Lewes Road

  • Very pleased with the service. Many thanks to Sharon and the boys!

    Mr Flynn Woodingdean

  • Extremely efficient. Nick and Paula are excellent. The weekly phone calls were much appreciated. 

    Ms Gray Lewes Road

  • Thanks David, all very professional.

    Mrs Flowers Foxdown Road

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    Mr King Hove

  • An efficient, professional and friendly service. Helpful and a pleasure to do business with.

    Mr Beddington Brading Road

  • Very impressed with all dealings with Maslen. Paula Carter was in particular very knowledgeable and helpful. 

    Mr McBlane Hove

  • Excellent customer service throughout. I will definitely recommend you, and use you again. Thank you.

    Ms Longley Kingsbury Street

  • Outstanding service from Sharon. James is an asset to Maslens & Harvey was so helpful and polite.

    Ms Cianchetta Selhurst Road

  • Very comprehensive and professional. Nice people to work with and highly recommended. 

    Mr Alderton Ladysmith Road

  • The whole team were very committed from start to finish.

    Mr Pilgrim Lewes Road

  • As always, an excellent service. 

    Mr & Mrs Field Lewes Road

  • All very professional, kept updated throughout. Very pleased - Would recommend. 

    Mrs Hammond Hove

  • Good team. Straightforward. No nonsense.

    Mr Standing Newmarket Road

  • Exceptional service throughout the process - should we decide to sell in the future we wouldn't hesitate to use your agency. You're a cut above the...

    Ms Windels & Mr Barham Fiveways

  • We were delighted with the service received from all the staff with whom we had contact,

    Dr Crichton The Ridgway

  • Thank you. We found all the staff knowledgeable and really pleasant to deal with. 

    Ms Ansloos Lewes Road

  • Very impressive - professional and friendly, both Martin Timms and Paula Carter were excellent at keeping in contact with sensible advice based on...

    Mrs O'Connor Hove

  • Please thank Paula at Lewes Road - Excellent service. 

    Mr & Mrs Nuthall Lewes Road

  • Thank you Paul and Archie, you gave an excellent service, as well as Kelly. I look forward to working with you again. 

    Mr White Fiveways

  • A completely painless experience from start to finish. Thank you.

    Mr Woolven & Mrs Bessant-Woolven Lewes Road

  • Sharon was amazing! She kept us up to date the whole way through the process. We cannot fault Sharon or the rest of her team. 

    Mr & Mrs Ashley Woodingdean

  • All agents at Maslen were extremely helpful and polite from the beginning to the completion of sale. 

    Mr Johnson Fiveways

  • Compared to your rivals, your service was excellent

    Ms McGrigor Milner Road

  • Paul Wilkinson was extremely helpful and efficient. The only problem was the vendors solicitor and Paul warned me of this. A good transaction all r...

    Mr Lavender Fiveways

  • We were very impressed with the Nick from start to finish. 

    Mr & Mrs Smith Lewes Road

  • First class service from a first class team.

    Mr & Mrs English The Ridgway

  • Service exceeded my expectations overall at all stages of the process - I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you. Thanks. 

    Ms Greene Lewes Road

  • In February 2016 I was looking to buy and sell very rapidly. Competition among buyers at the time was very high. Sharon @ the Woodingdean branch sh...

    Ms Helen Lyons Woodingdean

  • Excellent Service from start to finish.

    Mr T Mole Cromwell Road

  • Very thorough & very informative.

    Mr Michnowicz Waldegrave Road

  • I found the service to be courteous, friendly and efficient.

    Mr Upton Buller Road

  • Hugely impressed with Ben & his team.

    Mrs Mead Upper Lewes Road

  • Sharon and her team could not have done more in what was a difficult sale. 

    Ms Daly Woodingdean

  • Our local office manager, Sharon Wareham was warm and friendly and kept us up to date at all times.

    Mr Hope The Brow

  • Very impressed with the service. Sharon Wareham works tirelessly, very professionally and is always there for advice. 

    Miss Matthews Kipling Avenue

  • Ben was particularly enthusiastic and helpful. Martin, Paula, Sam and Will are all hard workers.

    Ms Goodey Franklin Road

  • Quality advice about when and how to sell, which was spot on. Thank you.

    Miss Coleman Buller Road

  • Excellent communication and advice throughout. It felt very reassuring to be in good hands.

    Mrs Brooker Buller Road

  • Very, very happy we chose you, felt right from the start! Thank you!

    Miss Blackadder Coniston Court, Holland Road

  • I have bought and sold 7 properties, and this was the best experience of an estate agents services I have found.

    Mrs Shepherd Hertford Road

  • Best Agents in Brighton.

    Mrs Field Tarner Road

  • A very positive experience - I had most contact with the Fiveways office and they were so friendly and helpful.

    Ms A King Balfour Road

  • Excellent service from the Lewes Road branch. Martin Timms secured a quick sale & at a good price & Paula Carter worked really hard to secure...

    Ms Schulte Bear Road

  • Thank you Maslens, you were all excellent!

    Miss Jasper Taunton Road

  • Sharon was excellent, she kept us informed at all stages and was a really calming objective influence in the process.

    Ms Frederick Channel View Road

  • Very professional service. Thank you!

    Miss New & Mr Jackson Buller Road

  • Many thanks to Nick. It was an easy process thanks to you! I'm extremely satisfied with how the sale went, great job.

    Ms Mayanobe Aymer Road

  • The sale was dealt with swiftly, professionally and successfully. Thank you Maslen!

    Mrs Lincoln Hove

  • Very impressed with the efficient and friendly service, the staff were a pleasure to deal with. 

    Mr & Mrs Gill Lewes Road

  • You were amazingly helpful throughout - a real pillar of strength with a very difficult sale.

    Mrs Parkin Fiveways

  • Very pleased with the experience. I would definitely recommend you and use you again.

    Ms D Edmonds Horton Road

  • We cannot recommend Maslen's estate agents enough.

    Many thanks to Paul, Donna, Janette and the...

    Linda & Les Wigmore Close

  • Nick and Paula are total stars! They were incredibly supportive and present throughout. Thank you!

    Miss O'Haire Hove

  • Very good service and communication. Paula was excellent.

    Mr & Mrs Scarboro 1 Pevensey Road

  • We were very pleased with services provided by the Fiveways office.

    Mr & Mrs Sawyer Shaftesbury Road

  • I wish we had used you to sell our property! Nice to meet honest people, who are genuinely interested in helping. Very pleased.

    Mrs Porter Taunton Road

  • The Woodingdean team were very friendly and approachable.

    Mrs Palmer Pitt Gardens

  • Maslens as a whole were really friendly and professional. I have to thank and congratulate Paula Carter for being superb at her job and exceeding m...

    Ms Warren Hove

  • The staff were very helpful, an excellent service. I would recommend you to others.

    Miss Hockly Fiveways

  • Thank you for everything!

    Ms Tucker Willow Close

  • A really good experience.

    Mr Tibble Lewes Road

  • Very helpful and patient team.

    Mrs Shea Selborne Place

  • It was a long, drawn out process that the people at Maslen helped me through, without the impression that it was a chore. So extremely professional...

    Mr McLagan Lewes Road

  • Best Estate Agents ever experienced - professional, approachable, competent and exemplary. 

    Mr & Mrs Guest Riley Road

  • All the staff I dealt with were excellent. Sharon worked really hard to complete the sale.

    Mrs Bent Falmer Gardens

  • Sharon, Harvey and James were all excellent - very professional. Totally opposite to what I have experienced with other agents. Maslen have restore...

    Ms Lyons Woodingdean

  • Paula was absolutely amazing!

    Mr & Mrs MacKay Lewes Road

  • The whole team were excellent, each one of them felt like family. Sharon had a lot of sorting to do at times but coped very well, a true profession...

    Mr Vernon Woodingdean

  • Paula's role was brilliant. Having someone office based and available was so appreciated and her promptness an impressive service - every Estate Agent...

    Ms Wynn-Jones Baxter Street

  • Already recommended you! Thank you.

    Mr Edwards The Ridgway

  • I would recommend Maslen to anyone. 

    Mrs Tripp Woodingdean

  • Great service, always polite and friendly. Excellent contact and info all the way.

    Mr Wells Bishops Road

  • Harvey was helpful and easily reachable at the beginning of the process and Sharon kept us informed and was always happy to help.

    Ms Murch & Ms Mapa Ticehurst Road

  • Cannot express our appreciation enough of all the efforts made by the Woodingdean team - they were fantastic.

    Mr John Mogridge Woodingdean

  • Brilliant. Well done to Sharon and the Woodingdean team.

    Ms Curtis The Ridgway

  • Paula was fabulous and we felt really informed and supported. 

    Mr & Mrs Walker Lewes Road

  • The team worked very hard over a long period to ensure my sale went through - excellent service!

    Mr Patrick Gladstone Terrace

  • Graham Griffin provided us, and continues to provide us, will all-round excellent advice. We trust his knowledge and expertise.

    Mr Blackmore & Ms O'Sullivan Financial Services

  • A good team at Woodingdean helped us through a stressful time.

    Mr & Mrs Penton Sycamore Close

  • Paul was absolutely brilliant. 

    Mrs Tasker Fiveways

  • Sharon was excellent - kept us well informed, thank you so much!

    Ms Waters Cowley Drive

  • Ben and Paula were calm and reassuring throughout a very difficult process!

    Ms Easterbrook Bear Road

  • A very committed team who made the sale process very easy.

    Ms Rees Ticehurst Road

  • Excellent service as always

    Mr Field Ringmer Road

  • Paula is amazing!

    Ms Aspnall Gladstone Place

  • First class service. Friendly and professional.

    Mr Thorne The Avenue

  • Very happy with the service we got from you guys, everyone we dealt with was extremely friendly, professional and helpful. Thanks!

    Mr Brown Titian Road

  • Sold within 2 weeks for asking price "excellent!"

    Mr Grundy Bishops Road

  • Superb service as usual, I would always recommend you.

    Ms S Hike Blackthorn Close

  • Very pleased with the excellent service throughout. Professional, friendly, efficient and no hard sell. Achieved above asking price. Thank you!

    Mr Witten Lewes Road

  • I was new to the area and viewed a lot of properties with a lot of different agents. Maslens were by far the best I came in contact with, so when i...

    Mr & Mrs Heer Lewes Road

  • Fantastic service. By far the best agents we have ever used, I cannot recommend you highly enough.

    Mr Field Mafeking Road

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