Banks are now offering 30-year mortgages - but this could come back to haunt the property market, says expert

The average person can’t imagine the world in 10 years, let alone 30, just as they know that even with some savings and a secure job, a mortgage of six times your salary is a high-risk bet.

And yet, the potential take-up rate is enormous. Suddenly, by extending the term or increasing the income multiples, the home of our dreams is finally within reach.

But what of fears? Well, optimism will be the driver for many people considering it.

Many will take it on because ‘well, prices always go up’, or ‘we’ll pay it off with that inheritance from granny’, or ‘I’ll get that promotion and a pay rise soon’.

And they may be right. But what if those plans don’t work out as expected?

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With first-time buyers getting older, the issue could come back to haunt us in the future. The average first-timer is now around 34, up from 29 in the early 2000s.

High multiples and extended terms will see today’s buyers with expensive mortgages well into their 60s.

Inflation, specifically property inflation, is likely to make today’s prices look ridiculously cheap in 20 or 30 years - prices have doubled in the last 20 years.

They are up sixfold in the previous 30 years. And for the optimists, that data is all that’s needed to make their minds up.