Helping Hand: A game changer

With your continued support, Nationwide has proudly helped 23,000 first time buyers step onto the property ladder in the past year through our Helping Hand mortgage - a 53% increase year-on-year. This milestone reflects our growing impact and unwavering commitment to supporting homeownership.

A year of impact

In September 2024, we increased our borrowing cap to six times income for eligible first time buyers. Since then, Helping Hand has seen a surge in uptake, with completions rising from 15,000 to 23,000 between October 2024 and September 2025.

This change has also driven a 102% increase in Helping Hand completions on new build properties, providing a significant boost to housebuilders and aligning with government housebuilding ambitions.

Henry Jordan, Nationwide's Group Director of Mortgages, said:

"Affordability remains a significant barrier to homeownership. We introduced Helping Hand in April 2021 to address this, and we're delighted to see the positive impact it's made for so many of our members, supporting more than 63,000 into their first home.

These latest figures show that increasing borrowing to six times income has been a game changer. With ongoing government and regulatory support, we're continuing to put first time buyers first".

Opening doors earlier and wider

Helping Hand is enabling first time buyers to purchase homes earlier, with applicants on average 2–3 years younger than the UK market norm. It's most popular in higher-cost regions like the Outer South East and London, where affordability is more challenging. It's also helping a wide range of professionals, from teachers and medics to tradespeople and emergency service workers, take their first step onto the property ladder.

About Helping Hand

Helping Hand allows eligible first time buyers to borrow up to six times income on a five or ten year fixed rate mortgage, up to 95% LTV - a 33% uplift compared to our standard lending at 4.5 times income.

Since launching in 2021, Helping Hand has supported over 63,000 people into homeownership, with around £13 billion lent. In the last year, Nationwide helped more first time buyers than any other lender.

Increased borrowing power

Helping Hand significantly boosts affordability:

  • A single applicant earning £30,000 with a 5% deposit could borrow up to £180,000 - £45,000 more than standard lending.
  • A couple with a joint income of £50,000 could borrow up to £300,000, compared to £225,000 without Helping Hand - a £75,000 uplift.
See How Helping Hand could support your clients