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How social media and influencers can help you get on to the property ladder
Tembo’s founder and CEO, explains, “It is interesting to see how young people think about planning for their financial future, but it is sad to see so many of them fear they will never own their own home.With so much innovation in the mortgage market right now, however, young people may be able to make their homeowning dreams a reality in a way they may not currently realise.” GENERATION ALPHA PREFERS ONLINE INFORMATION As digital takes over all our lives, even new housebuilders are using influencers to reach buyers, explains Caroline Coskry, whose new arm of her PR agency, Influenced by Oracle, aims to link housing developers with influencers. “Influencing and being influenced by something isn’t new, it’s just taking a different form through social media. Thirty years ago, we were mainly influenced by TV ads, the shift to social media is really to accommodate how consumers tap into news. Generation Alpha is growing up with social influencers all around them and, unless they tap out, it is here to stay.” Research by Forbes shows that more than 50 million people around the world now consider themselves to be influencers, responding to the demand from the younger generation who tend to shun traditional forms of media such as newspapers, preferring instead to get information online. Coskry has noticed that housebuilding as a sector has been relatively slow to showcase its homes online. Instagram’s inspirational appeal initially attracted fashion and travel influencers, but this is changing. “Interest in home and lifestyle content has grown considerably, especially since the boom of self-renovators during 2020. Buying a home is very different from buying an item of clothing or a piece of furniture. People aren’t reading newspapers as much on their commute or taking in advertising as much as they used to, especially with the newest wave of first time buyers. Consumer behaviour has changed, with many people looking at social media for news, advice and inspiration.”
When it comes to saving for a first home, getting a mortgage, the buying process or even renovations and DIY, more first time buyers now turn to social media and influencers for information, notes Ginetta Vedrickas. Research by Tembo, a broker specialising in first time buyer mortgages, revealed some interesting statistics, including finding that 30% of those surveyed say social media like TikTok and Instagram is now their primary source of information on finances and investments, rising to one third, 33%, for 22 to 24-year- olds. Meanwhile 23% get information from family, 22% turn to financial advisers, with just 5% relying on books
SAVING FOR THEIR FUTURE How first time buyers save for a deposit on their first home is changing too. Tembo’s research found that 16% of young people surveyed aged 22-24 plan to invest in NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or cryptocurrencies in the next five years, compared to 14% who plan to invest in an ISA and just 10% who plan on investing in a pension.The survey of 2,003 people aged 22-30, showed significant regional and gender differences when it
comes to investing. Almost one fifth, 19%, of men plan to invest in NFTs or crypto, versus only 7% of women. When asked about the thing they fear most, 29% said it was “never owning their own home in the future” with even more, 36%, admitting that never having their own family was their biggest fear. Over half, 56%, believe it was easier for their parents’ generation to get on the property ladder, with 51% of respondents believing this is because their parents had better access to finance. Richard Dana,
88 First Time Buyer December 2024/January 2025
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