27% of those intending to buy in the next 12 months will be doing so for the first time, up from 23% a year ago, according to findings from Rightmove’s latest Consumer Confidence Survey.

The research suggests that in the new property market landscape a university education is the most common denominator in getting onto the housing ladder.

“First-time buyers continue to be something of a rare breed in today’s market but our analysis reveals that higher education is currently the statistically most likely route to satisfying the home- ownership dream,” explained Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove.

“Those school-leavers who are set to embark on a university education this autumn will be encouraged by the fact that further qualifications seem to be an important qualifying factor in getting onto the housing ladder.”

69% of those who expect to buy in the next 12 months are ‘grads’, educated to either graduate degree (39%) or post-graduate degree (30%) level, or equivalent.

The average age of a graduate prospective first-time buyer is 30, compared with an average age of 32 for a school-leaver. The average age for a post-graduate intending to buy for the first time is 33, though this is naturally skewed by the length of time studying, particularly for doctorate-level qualifications, Rightmove said.

Shipside said: “In today’s market, getting a degree under your belt is a common pre- requisite among the constrained numbers who make it onto the housing ladder. Studying for a degree also seems to increase the chances of buying sooner. Joining the world of work straight from school may start your earning career a few years earlier, but in the current housing market it seems the downside is that it may delay being able to satisfy your home-ownership aspirations.”

Of all prospective first-time buyers who are currently living with parents, 62% are graduates compared to only 38% of other intending first-timers. “Some grads get ahead in the first home-ownership stakes by returning to the family home after their university gap, or perhaps, in these difficult times, some never flew the nest at all,” said Shipside. “The burden of student debt or the desire to buy perhaps means that there are fewer options to rent in the private sector, and the most practical outcome is to return from their recent student digs to their former school-time bed.”

The average deposit for a graduate or post-graduate first-time buyer is around £35,000, compared to £25,000 for ‘non-grads’. With lenders demanding higher deposits to get a mortgage, and lower loan-to-value advances attracting lower interest rates, this puts ‘grad first-time buyers’ in a better financial position.

Graduate first-time buyers’ also benefit from greater financial assistance from family members with their future house purchase. 30% of them state they will be the recipient of some form of family financial assistance in building their deposit, whereas only 24% of ‘non- grads’ are expecting a contribution.

Shipside added: “Some of those that have achieved ‘grad-status’ are not only taking advantage of the parental roof as a pre-step onto the housing ladder, but are also the greater beneficiaries of a financial leg-up towards the costs of getting there. It seems some return to the family home for cheaper accommodation, and then some are helped by a withdrawal from the family coffers to assist their final exit.

“Whether it’s a parting gift or a parting shot to get them to finally leave the family nest, it helps them both raise a higher deposit and means graduates buy their first home younger than ‘non-grads’. These are testing times for all first- time buyers, though in the current credit-strapped housing market, it seems that today’s grads will be making up the bulk of tomorrow’s first-time buyers.”