Finding your first home on the Isle of Man isn’t quite what it used to be.
If homeownership on the Isle of Man feels out of reach, it might be time to take another look at your options.
Things are changing.
Back in 2003, around two-thirds of homes sold on the Isle of Man cost £200,000 or less. By 2025, fewer than one in four homes sold for that price.
That’s one finding from Getting on the Ladder, a 2026 report by MyMove Isle of Man that examined more than 37,000 property sales.
This shows a clear picture of how the Island’s housing market has changed. It means that homes at the lower end of the market are harder to find. This leaves first-time buyers with fewer choices, needing a larger deposit, delaying homeownership, and making decisions harder.
It makes it harder for them to find a place that fits their budget, lifestyle, and preferred location, especially if they want to stay close to family, friends, or work.
And even if they search for more expensive homes, this can mean saving an even bigger deposit and waiting longer to become homeowners, making homeownership feel even further out of reach.
But finding an affordable home is only part of the journey. Another hurdle that’s holding people back, even when they’ve found the right place, is saving the deposit.
When the monthly payments aren’t the problem
For some aspiring homebuyers, getting onto the property ladder isn’t necessarily about being able to afford the monthly cost of a home.
With a steady household income, they manage their finances and could afford the monthly mortgage payments on a suitable home.
What they can’t do is save the deposit needed to buy it.
And that’s understandable. When they’re paying rent, household bills and everyday living costs, finding extra money to save each month can be challenging.
MyMove report highlights just how much the housing market has changed. While roughly the same number of homes are being sold, fewer are available at the lower end of the market. And with house prices continuing to rise, saving for a deposit is getting harder.
Figures from the Isle of Man Housing Market Review, published by the Cabinet Office earlier this year, paint a similar picture. The average house price of the Isle of Man has risen by 3.6% to £393,735.
This puts the average property price at roughly eight to ten times the Island’s median annual wage, and it means an aspiring homebuyer could need to save well over £25,000 for the deposit and associated moving costs.
This raises an important question: what happens when someone can afford the monthly costs of a home but hasn’t saved enough for a deposit yet?
Does that mean their plans have to wait?
What if you could move in before you’ve saved your deposit?
Own Homes offers a different approach to homeownership.
Working with Isle of Man housebuilders Dandara and Hartford Homes, we’re helping eligible homebuyers take a different route to owning a brand-new home.
Instead of waiting to save your deposit before moving, you could move into the home you plan to buy and use part of your monthly payments to build your deposit while you live there.
You choose an eligible new-build home from a partner housebuilder. We buy it, and you move in.
You make a monthly payment, with part covering your rent and another part going into savings for your deposit.
You have up to five years to save and get mortgage-ready. Once you’ve built your deposit and can get a mortgage, you can buy the home you’ve already made your own.
The difference is simple.
You’re not saving for a home you hope to move into one day. You’re saving towards the home you’re already living in.
Making your next move possible
With Own Homes, you can RentSaveOwn: Rent your new home. Save while you rent. Own when you’re ready.
It doesn’t make every home affordable. You’ll still need to meet eligibility requirements and afford the monthly payments on your chosen home.
But if you have the income to support homeownership and are held back by the deposit, it offers another way to own a home.
It means you don’t have to wait until you’ve saved every penny of your deposit before you can start making it your home. You can find somewhere you want to settle and get started.
What next
Applications for Own Homes on the Isle of Man open in November.
In the meantime, visit www.ownhomes.com/iom to find out more and register your interest so we can keep you updated.
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