Cornwall new-build buyers need less deposit than ever, figures show

If you’ve been putting your move to a new-build home on hold because of the deposit you think you’ll need, the numbers say otherwise. Mortgage lenders are approving far higher proportions of a property’s value than they were five years ago, and buyers across the South West, Cornwall included, are taking advantage.

The deposit gap is closing

New figures from New Homes Mortgage Helpline show that 53 per cent of its new-build customers so far in 2026 have taken out mortgages of between 81 and 90 per cent loan-to-value. Five years ago, that figure stood at just 21 per cent.

The shift at the very top end is even sharper. Back in 2021, only around one per cent of borrowers were reaching 91 to 100 per cent loan-to-value mortgages, putting down a deposit of 10 per cent or less. That has now climbed to 10 per cent of borrowers, a tenfold increase.

Why the market has moved

Some of that change comes down to what’s on offer rather than buyers simply taking on more risk. Five years ago, the government’s Help to Buy scheme let purchasers in England pair a five per cent deposit with an equity loan worth up to 20 per cent of the property’s value in the South West, which meant the mortgage itself only had to cover a smaller slice of the price. With that scheme gone, lenders have stepped in with a wider range of products aimed at buyers with smaller deposits.

Ben Crawford, Group Commercial Director at New Homes Mortgage Helpline, said the change reflects “the growing availability of mortgage products designed to support people with smaller deposits”, alongside shifts in house prices, affordability and buyer appetite.

Still moving, just later

The same data suggests people are reaching these milestones later in life than they used to. The average age of a first-time buyer applicant has crept up over the past five years and now stands at 33, while the average home mover is 41.

Cavanna Homes, the family-owned housebuilder whose developments span the South West including Bude on the Cornish coast, says that despite the wider affordability squeeze, its pipeline of interested buyers hasn’t dried up. Around 85 per cent of its current leads already have a property to sell.

“There is no doubt that the market remains challenging, and we don’t want to understate that,” said Hannah Newnes, Sales Director at Cavanna Homes. “What we are seeing, though, is that people haven’t stopped wanting to move. Around 85 per cent of the leads we’re currently speaking to have a property to sell, so for many buyers the question isn’t whether they want to move, but how they can make that move work.”

She added that headline economic news can make people assume it’s the wrong time to move, “but everyone’s circumstances are different”, pointing to the growth in products for smaller-deposit buyers as one example of how the market has adjusted.

New builds also edge ahead on rate

There’s a smaller but tangible advantage for new-build buyers on the rate itself. New Homes Mortgage Helpline’s August figures show customers taking a five-year fixed mortgage on a new-build home secured an average rate of 4.98 per cent, against 5.05 per cent for those buying an existing property.

“Lenders are increasingly looking at innovative ways to remove some of the barriers to home ownership,” Ben Crawford said. “We are seeing products designed specifically to help first-time buyers and those without substantial deposits, alongside mortgage rates available to new-build purchasers that can compare favourably with the wider market.”

He added that there’s a wider conversation still to be had about what more can be done to help people buy new homes and support the housing the country needs.