Average mortgage deposits across East Anglia have fallen by 23.5% in the past year, dropping from £72,014 to £55,063, according to new data from Barclays Mortgages. The region recorded the second-largest decline in the country, behind only Greater London, where average deposits fell 27.2% to £136,057.
The figures, drawn from Barclays’ latest Property Insights report, point to a broader shift in how first-time buyers are entering the market. For sellers across Norwich, King’s Lynn and the wider Norfolk and Suffolk countryside, the implications are worth paying attention to.
Nationally, the average deposit fell 16.4% year-on-year to £57,209. East Anglia’s drop was considerably steeper, suggesting a notable shift in either the products available to regional buyers or the type of properties being purchased.
Part of the explanation lies in lender behaviour. NatWest announced this week that it has raised the maximum loan-to-value on its shared equity purchase products from 75% to 85% and 90%, while simultaneously cutting rates across its residential mortgage range. Two-year fixed deals at 60% LTV without a fee now start at 4.61%, down from 4.74%, with five-year equivalents at 4.53%.
These aren’t dramatic reductions. But they’re directional. Lenders are widening access, particularly for buyers who can service a mortgage but struggle to accumulate savings fast enough to meet traditional deposit thresholds.
The Barclays report reveals something estate agents across the country are already seeing on the ground. For Generation Z buyers, price has overtaken location as the single most important factor when choosing a home.
One in five Gen Z buyers told Barclays they would move more than 25 miles from their preferred area to find something affordable. A quarter said they simply couldn’t afford to buy where they wanted to live. These aren’t people giving up on homeownership. They’re recalibrating, treating the first purchase as a financial foothold rather than a forever home.
Jatin Patel, head of mortgages, savings and insurance at Barclays, described it as “adaptability”: first-time buyers making deliberate trade-offs on location and property features to get onto the ladder.
For property owners in Norfolk and Suffolk, this represents a quiet structural advantage. The region offers precisely what flexible, price-conscious buyers are looking for: character properties at a fraction of London and South East prices, strong transport links to Cambridge and the capital, and a quality of life that consistently ranks among the highest in England.
Towns like Wymondham, Diss and Thetford sit along the main rail corridors. Holt, Aylsham and Cromer attract those drawn to the North Norfolk coast. With deposits falling and lenders opening up higher-LTV products, the pool of buyers who can actually act on that attraction is growing.
The Ivybridge Collection’s property market reports show consistent demand across these locations, with asking prices holding firm while transaction volumes pick up.
The government is also moving to support first-time buyers from the savings side. A consultation published this week outlines plans for a First Time Buyer ISA to replace the widely criticised Lifetime ISA, which ministers described as “a flawed product.”
The new FTB ISA would provide a government bonus at the point of withdrawal, paid directly towards the buyer’s deposit when they complete a purchase. Both cash and stocks and shares versions are planned, with conveyancers taking primary responsibility for verifying eligibility.
It won’t transform the market overnight. But combined with falling deposits and more generous lending criteria, it adds another piece to a slowly improving picture for first-time buyers, and by extension, for anyone looking to sell a property to them.
The Barclays data isn’t all positive. Nearly nine in ten buyers and sellers reported experiencing delays during the home-moving process, and 29% had a purchase fall through entirely. Conveyancing issues were cited most frequently, followed by estate agency-related problems and a shortage of suitable properties.
The average period between final mortgage offer and completion increased by 21.7% compared with a year earlier. That’s a significant deterioration, and it suggests the conveyancing system is under strain even before any government-mandated reforms take effect.
There is movement on this front. The government has proposed introducing upfront information packs for property sales, and proptech firms are launching tools designed to prepare legal documentation at the point of listing rather than after a sale is agreed. Whether these measures will meaningfully cut fall-through rates remains to be tested.
Julien Lafargue, Barclays’ chief market strategist, pointed to easing geopolitical pressures as a positive signal. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and falling oil prices should help contain inflation in the coming months, giving the Bank of England “some breathing room” on interest rates.
Remortgage activity is already picking up sharply, accounting for 40.6% of mortgage completions compared with 30.7% a year ago. Homeowners are acting decisively to lock in rates, a sign of growing confidence in the market’s trajectory.
Among Gen Z renters, 16% told Barclays they are actively searching for a property to buy. For sellers across East Anglia, especially those with well-presented homes in the £200,000 to £400,000 bracket, that’s a growing audience worth reaching.
The direction of travel is clear. Deposits are falling, lending criteria are loosening, and a new generation of buyers is willing to look beyond their immediate postcode. Norfolk and Suffolk stand to benefit.
