Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Property Industry Eye. Read the original article for full details.

Affordability Drives Gen Z Buyers to Prioritise Price Over Location

Barclays’ latest Property Insights report highlights a shift in buyer priorities, with younger purchasers increasingly willing to compromise on location in favour of affordability. The research found that one in five Gen Z buyers would move more than 25 miles from their preferred area to find a more affordable home, and a quarter said they could not afford to buy where they would ideally like to live.

Average deposit requirements have fallen by 16.4% year-on-year to £57,209, but affordability remains a significant barrier to homeownership. More than a third of renters cited saving for a deposit as their biggest challenge, while 36% pointed to high property prices as a key obstacle.

For estate agents, the findings suggest that buyer demand is increasingly driven by price rather than location, particularly among younger buyers. Price was identified as the most important factor for Gen Z purchasers, ahead of location and neighbourhood considerations.

The report also notes ongoing frustrations with transaction times. Nearly nine in ten buyers and sellers reported experiencing delays during the home-moving process, and 29% said they had a purchase fall through altogether. Conveyancing issues were the most commonly cited cause of delays, followed by estate agency-related issues and a lack of suitable properties. Barclays’ mortgage data shows the average period between final mortgage offer and completion increased by 21.7% compared with a year earlier.

Despite these challenges, confidence in the housing market edged higher in May. Barclays found that 16% of Gen Z renters are actively searching for a property to buy. Remortgages accounted for 40.6% of mortgage completions, up from 30.7% a year ago, as existing homeowners become more proactive about refinancing.

Regional data from Barclays Mortgages shows that average deposit values have decreased in most areas, with the largest year-on-year drops seen in Greater London, East Anglia, and the South East. However, Northern Ireland saw an increase in average deposit values.

These trends highlight the ongoing impact of affordability pressures on the UK property market and the need for letting agents and inventory clerks to adapt to changing buyer priorities and transaction timelines.