Bath Building Society’s CEO Richard Ingle says stronger engagement from lenders and brokers could help close the knowledge gap holding back first-time buyers.
At MoneyLIVE Summit, he noted that while affordability and saving for a deposit remain major barriers for first-time buyers, many potential homeowners are also held back by uncertainty about how to start the process.
“The non-financial challenge is knowing how to go about buying a house,” he said. “What’s the process? Where do you start? What are the steps you need to go through? There’s a big knowledge gap.”
Ingle pointed to research highlighted by the Building Societies Association which found fewer than half of people hoping to buy a home have spoken to a broker or mortgage lender to explore whether homeownership is achievable.
However, when those same individuals are shown mortgage products available through building societies, around two-thirds believe they could afford to buy a home sooner than they previously thought.
For Ingle, the findings underline the importance of proactive engagement and clearer communication from lenders, brokers and the wider industry.
Brokers and mortgage providers have an important role to play not only in recommending products but also in helping potential buyers understand the homebuying journey.
“Our advisers will talk through the mortgage products that we’ve got available, but they’ll also help people understand the house-buying process,” he said.
Alongside product innovation, including Bath Building Society’s specialist offerings such as Buy for Uni mortgages and rent-a-room mortgages, Ingle said he also focuses on educating and engaging potential buyers earlier.
That’s why the building society has been working to build engagement locally through financial education initiatives in schools across the city.
“We offer financial education in all of the state schools in Bath so that we can help young people understand and navigate their financial lives,” Ingle said.
The society is also looking to increase communication with its existing members, including savers who may be considering buying a home in the future.
From an industry perspective, Ingle said campaigns led by the Building Societies Association are also helping to raise awareness of first-time buyer options, with brokers playing a key role in passing that information on to prospective borrowers.
For Ingle, the mutual model gives building societies a strong foundation for this approach.
“As building societies, we’re here to help our members in any way that we possibly can,” he said. “We’re not looking to maximise profits for shareholders – we’re trying to identify every possible way we can help people beyond the everyday provision of services.”
He added that by improving communication and engagement with potential buyers, lenders can help more people realise that homeownership may be more achievable than they think.