the struggle of uk home buyers russia is scouring the globe for weapons perilous winter in europe and elon musk sells tesla shares here’s what people are talking about firsttime home buyers in the uk are stretching themselves as they struggle to purchase property with more people taking on mortgages that will take longer than ever to pay off the average term of a home loan for a firsttime buyer in june hit a record 30 years according to data compiled by uk finance that compares with 255 years in 2005 when the industry lobby group began compiling the data soaring demand for houses during the pandemic has pushed prices to levels that are more unaffordable than ever meanwhile the bank of england is raising interest rates as it predicts the economy is heading for a recession lasting more than a year mortgage approvals fell in june by more than forecast