"Economic outlook spurring on return of first-time buyers"
With the British Chambers of Commerce revising its earlier forecast of 1.3%, and now expecting growth to dip 0.3%, one financial expert believes a rise in the number of first-time buyers contacting his brokerage speaks for itself.
Barry Webb (pictured), chief executive of Mortgage Saving Expert, Webb said the new enquiries he had recently received from first-time buyers, indicated improving confidence in the economic outlook.
The British Chambers of Commerce cited falling energy prices, robust household spending and improved business confidence for its revised forecast.
“I know the economy is looking far better now in comparison to six months ago, as since the beginning of January, we have had many more enquiries regarding purchases, predominantly from first-time buyers,” Webb said.
“We normally have around 30 new enquiries per month and I would say 80% of those are first-time buyers at present.”
Webb said first-time buyers’ expectations had changed, and he believed everyone was now fully aware of the ‘new normal’ in terms of interest rates.
“While interest rates shot up to over 6%, they have now begun to decline and sit a little under 4%, depending on the deposit, so it is clear to see stability is slowly filtering back through the market, presenting a positive outlook for first-time buyers,” Webb explained.
On average, he said, peoples’ wages were higher than you would think, and because property prices were coming down slightly, they were more affordable now than they were pre-pandemic as well as during it.
Webb said this was because the prices were highly inflated during the pandemic, as many were trying to move in order to access greener spaces.
“I think due to market confidence, the great British resolve and hard-working people of our nation, we are working our way back into a growing economy; the future looks bright,” he said.
Support
The government ended the Help to Buy scheme, and building had slowed down, but Webb believed the government could do more to assist developers in building new properties, to help continue the gradual return of stability to the industry and wider economy.
He believed that a new home buying scheme should be considered to encourage more buyers into the market.
“We need another Help to Buy or Shared Equity Scheme; there is much work to be done but we will come out of the other side,” Webb said.
He added that the market was back to pre-COVID levels, and cited a change in attitude over the pandemic.
“Life is short and people wished to spend more time around the ones they love, which is why there are many hybrid working roles as more people work from home,” Webb said.
Webb remained confident that the UK economy was improving.
“Sometimes we have dips in life, which is exactly what we are going through now; the economy will pick up again, that is just the way it is,” Webb said.
With the economic outlook steadily improving, have you seen a return of first-time buyers? Let us know in the comment section below.
