Second steppers struggling to reach the next rung

It may seem like the battle is won once you have made your first hard-won step onto the property ladder, however, as families grown, and you accumulate more belongings… that first home can soon feel a little tight for space.

Research by Lloyds Bank has shown that at this stage, so-called ‘second steppers’ are finding it near impossible to make the leap from their first home, into their next, larger property.

Nearly 50% of homeowners say their equity position has improved over the past year and with research showing that second steppers boast an average equity of £150,068, there’s plenty of cash available in first time purchases - however one in three homeowners are still choosing to stay put, preferring to ‘improve rather than move’.

The average regional price gaps for second steppers in December 2016 are:


First time buyer avg. price

Second stepper avg. price

Price gap
North£124,240£235,069£110,828
Yorkshire and the Humber£136,398£297,720£131,321
North West£144,888£283,236£138,348
East Midlands£154,293£263,215£108,923
East Anglia£196,950£326,902£129,952
Wales£134,154£241,134£106,980
South West£201,992£353,890£151,897
South East£273,497£509,502£236,005
Greater London£403,325£702,788£317,463
Northern Ireland£116,230£185,283£69,053
Scotland£137,880£247,125£109,245
UK £205,723£331,796£126,073


Second steppers are telling us that finding the right property can be tough, and because of that, they're delaying their move. However, if too many second steppers hold out for a long time for their dream home this could reduce the availability of homes for first-time buyers and slow the market.

Andrew Mason, Lloyds Bank mortgage director

Let my property online from

£99 inc VAT

Let your property

FREE Instant Online Valuation

Instant Valuation

Back to top