Ahead of National Financial Awareness Day on August 14th - an annual initiative dedicated to boosting financial literacy - new research from online mortgage broker Mojo Mortgages has exposed a stark deficiency in the UK curriculum. A resounding 79% of first-time buyers believe the UK education system completely failed to prepare them for the complex realities of securing a mortgage and navigating home ownership.
Mojo Mortgages First-Time Buyer Sentiment Survey, has polled 1,000 UK first-time buyers to find out the sentiment around homebuying for first-timers in 2026. The findings indicate that the overwhelming majority of people entering the property market feel left to fend for themselves, with the gap in basic financial education becoming increasingly severe for the younger generation. An alarming 86% of first time buyers between 18-24 years stated they felt ill-prepared by their schooling, suggesting that instead of improving, financial education in schools has actually fallen further behind the fast-evolving property landscape.
The team at Mojo Mortgages have broken down the data further below, providing their stance on how they plan to help bridge this education gap for first time buyers entering the UK property market.
Nearly 80% of first time buyers in the UK say education failed to prepare them for the reality of mortgages
The research highlighted areas across the UK where the demand for better education around the home buying process and scaffolding is most critical. At a regional level, Wales, the South West and Scotland emerged as the top three regions in the UK where first-time buyers voted most strongly that their ‘education failed to prepare them for the reality of mortgages, interest rates, and home ownership’.
At a city level, Plymouth’s first time buyers surveyed recorded the highest percentage of residents (100%*) nationwide who strongly agree that the school system left them unprepared for the reality of mortgages, interest rates and home ownership. This was closely followed by Liverpool’s first time buyers surveyed (96%) and Edinburgh (90%).
Dropping the Ball: Gender Disparity and the Generational Divide
When looking closer at the data, a widening gap in basic financial education becomes increasingly severe for the younger generation. An alarming 86.3% of 18–24-year-old first time buyers stated they felt ill-prepared by their schooling. The data highlights a distinct variance in how prepared different demographics feel, revealing notable gender and age divides:
Gender Disparity: The survey revealed an interesting gap between genders, with nearly 45% of women strongly agreeing with the statement compared to 37% of men.
The Generational Pressure Point: Nearly half (49%) of young adults aged 18–24 strongly agreed that the education system failed them, compared to just 35% of those aged 55+. This points to a growing sentiment that modern UK schooling has ‘dropped the ball’ regarding essential, real-world financial literacy, leaving the latest generation entering the property market the least equipped.
Helping the Next Generation on the Ladder
This systemic lack of preparation directly feeds into the broader lifestyle delays and pressures exposed by the Mojo Mortgages First-Time Buyer Sentiment Survey. From enduring toxic workplaces to delaying family milestones, the real cost of buying a home is weighing heavily on a generation trying to navigate what is deemed to be a complex market, essentially blind.
Kayleigh Jackson, Mortgages Sales Manager at Mojo Mortgages, comments:
"Buying a home and securing your first mortgage is one of the most significant financial milestones in a person's life, yet our data shows that the vast majority of the UK population feels completely unequipped by their formal education. Financial literacy shouldn't just be learned through trial and error when you're already in the middle of house hunting.
"We have clearly seen that the school system isn't getting through to the younger generation, which means more needs to be done to give them the tools to get on the property ladder confidently. At Mojo Mortgages, our ultimate aim is to remove the stress and unnecessary complexity from the home-buying process. We want to bridge this educational gap.
"We encourage anyone who feels overwhelmed by their own home-buying journey to reach out to us. We are actively expanding our comprehensive suite of online advice guides to answer every question. Most importantly, our team of mortgage experts is completely free to call and get advice from. You don't need to have a deposit ready or be actively viewing properties to speak with us; we want to help people start their journey with confidence, no matter how early they are in the process."
In response to these findings, Mojo Mortgages is scaling up its free educational tools, aiming to demystify interest rates, affordability criteria, and mortgage applications so that the next generation of buyers can approach the market informed, rather than intimidated.
You can find the full survey insights at https://mojomortgages.com/mortgage-news/first-time-buyers-survey-2026
