Nationwide: 66% of buyers buy doer‑uppers

Buying a first home in Britain increasingly means buying a project. That’s the real news here. Nationwide says 66% of first-time buyers chose a “doer-upper” to save money, which tells you something simple but important — for a lot of people, the only affordable home is the one that still needs work. And once they get the keys, the renovation starts almost immediately. ### What changed? The new bit is the scale. This is not a niche group of especially handy buyers hunting for character homes. Nationwide’s survey says two-thirds of first-time buyers deliberately bought places needing renovation, and 93% had already done at least one DIY or renovation project after moving in. That makes “buy now, improve later” look less like a lifestyle choice and more like the default path into ownership. (derrynow.com) ### Why are buyers doing this? Because the upfront maths is still brutal. Nationwide’s affordability work shows a typical first-time buyer on average earnings, with a 20% deposit, would spend about 32% of take-home pay on monthly mortgage costs. That is better than the worst recent squeezes, but still above the long-run average. Add the deposit hurdle — around £23,000 for a typical first-time buyer property — and it becomes obvious why people cut where they can. (derrynow.com) A scruffier home with a lower asking price can be the only workable entry point. ### Why does the DIY part matter? Because the survey suggests buyers are not just repainting walls and calling it done. Of the people who renovated, 75% said they ended up doing more work than they expected. A quarter of that group said they did much more, and 18% took on major structural projects. So the “cheap” home often comes bundled with hidden cost, hidden time, and a much steeper learning curve than buyers planned for. (nationwide.co.uk) ### Is this just about taste? Not really. Social media can make renovation look like an aesthetic hobby — peel-and-stick upgrades, weekend room makeovers, clever storage hacks. But the underlying driver here is financial pressure. People are not mainly buying worn homes because they love disruption. They are buying them because the polished version costs more, and mortgage affordability still leaves little room for perfection on day one. (derrynow.com) ### Why now, if affordability improved a bit? Because “improved” does not mean “easy.” Nationwide has been saying affordability got somewhat better through 2025, helped by earnings growth and lower borrowing costs than the recent peak. But deposits remain a huge barrier, especially in southern England, and affordability still varies sharply by region and job type. So even when conditions ease a little, first-time buyers still need workarounds — smaller homes, different locations, or homes needing repair. (derrynow.com) ### What does this mean for lenders? It helps explain why lenders keep pushing products aimed at stretching first-time buyer budgets. Nationwide has expanded higher loan-to-income lending through its Helping Hand range, and it has framed that as a way to get more buyers onto the ladder. But the survey shows borrowing power is only one half of the story. The other half is what kind of home that borrowing power actually buys. (nationwide.co.uk) ### What is the catch? A doer-upper can lower the purchase price, but it shifts the pain rather than removing it. The bill comes later — in materials, tradespeople, delays, and the risk that “cosmetic” problems turn out to be structural ones. It’s a bit like buying a cheaper phone with a cracked screen and weak battery — the sticker price is lower, but you have signed up for future spending the moment you say yes. ### Bottom line? This story is really about how first-time buying works now. (nationwide.co.uk) More buyers are getting in by accepting imperfection upfront and treating the home as a live renovation project. That helps explain why practical, low-cost upgrade content keeps landing — it matches the reality of people who managed to buy, but only by agreeing to finish the house later. (derrynow.com)