Age of first-time buyers
Published
1. Main facts and figures
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in the 2 years to March 2023, the average age of first-time buyers in England was 32 years old
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White British first-time buyers were 31 years old on average, and those from Asian and White Other ethnic backgrounds were 35 years old
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the number of households surveyed in some ethnic groups is too small to make reliable generalisations
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the average age of first-time buyers in England when they bought their first home, by ethnicity.
First-time buyers are people who had bought a home for the first time in the 3 years before being surveyed.
The information relates to households of either one person or a group of people sharing cooking facilities and a living room or dining area. It must be their main or only home.
Ages are rounded to the nearest year in the chart, and the nearest year and month in the table.
Not included in the data
Estimates based on fewer than 5 households have not been included. This is to protect people’s confidentiality, and because it is harder to make reliable generalisations from smaller numbers of survey respondents.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for the 18 ethnic groups used in the 2011 Census.
Data is based on the ethnicity of the 'household reference person'. This is usually the person responsible for the tenancy or mortgage. If there are joint owners or tenants, it is the person with the highest income. If they have the same income, it is the oldest person.
The data does not account for people of different ethnic backgrounds who live in the same household.
Ethnicity was known for 99.7% of households.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data.
The data is an average for the 2 years from April 2021 to March 2023. This is to make sure there are enough households to be able to make reliable generalisations. You can read more about combining multiple years of data and some of the issues involved.
The figures are based on survey data. Find out more about:
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interpreting survey data, including how the number of people surveyed affects reliability
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how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the whole group being studied
In the data file
Download the data for:
- figures rounded to 1 decimal place
- sample sizes
- weighted figures for the numerator and denominator
- breakdowns by income bands, NSSEC, regions and age groups
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Age | Number of households |
|---|---|---|
| All | 32 years | 685 |
| Asian | 35 years and 5 months | 78 |
| Bangladeshi | 33 years and 1 month | 6 |
| Chinese | 31 years | 15 |
| Indian | 36 years and 7 months | 31 |
| Pakistani | 37 years | 14 |
| Asian other | 35 years | 12 |
| Black | 32 years and 4 months | 22 |
| Black African | 35 years | 13 |
| Black Caribbean | 28 years and 2 months | 8 |
| Black other | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Mixed | 28 years and 2 months | 19 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 28 years and 8 months | 8 |
| Mixed White/Black African | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 27 years and 4 months | 5 |
| Mixed other | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| White | 31 years and 6 months | 551 |
| White British | 31 years and 1 month | 478 |
| White Irish | 32 years and 7 months | 5 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| White other | 34 years and 7 months | 67 |
| Other | 36 years and 2 months | 15 |
| Arab | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Any other | 34 years and 8 months | 13 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
4. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Note on corrections or updates
Information published in the English Housing Survey headline report and other annual reports is usually based on a 12-month period, rather than the 2 years’ combined data used here. As a result, the statistics shown here may not match those in the English Housing Survey reports.
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The English Housing Survey is a continuous national survey. It collects information about people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England.
5. Download the data
measure time time_type ethnicity ethnicity_type geography nssec income_band region age_group value sample_size