Lockdown will affect first-time buyer housing prospects, according to First Home Coach.
Lockdown will affect first-time buyer's housing prospects, according to First Home Coach.
The firm detailed that for those who have benefited through the lockdown by saving money on transport, expectation of a purchase in the next six months has increased by 62%.
Meanwhile, for those who have seen lockdown create uncertainty, 56% less now intend to purchase a home within the next six to 12 months.
For individuals whose jobs continued unhampered by lockdown, the number of people able to save £1,000 per month doubled over this period.
This is in line with Bank of England data, which showed that UK consumers also cleared £600m worth of consumer credit in October with £15.6bn of debt paid off since lockdown began in March.
Furthermore, First Home Coach outlined that the growth in mortgage lending to first-time buyers since 2008, has outstripped all other areas of the sector.
The £60bn lent in 2019 was a 28% increase on pre-financial crash levels with buy-to-let, remortgage and home mover lending all shrinking over the same period, according to UK Finance.
As a result of this, First Home Coach believe that the health of the housing sector is closely aligned to the health of the first-time buyer market.
First Home Coach also outlined that due to the stamp duty holiday, 62% of potential buyers detailed that they expect to buy their first home within the next six months.
However, for prospective first-time buyers who have been negatively impacted by lockdown, the number looking to purchase their first home within the next six to 12 months has dropped by 56%.
First Home Coach outlined that this could result in over 60,000 first-time buyers impacting demand for new homes and mortgages in the second half of 2021.
Ben Leonard, chief executive of Life Moments, the company behind First Home Coach, said: “First Home Coach’s ability to nurture prospective buyers to achieve their life goal of buying their first home, means that we can understand their hopes for the future.
“Lockdown has caused a rift in the prospects of first-time buyers, resulting in the
creation of a two speed market.
“While business picked up significantly in the second half of 2020 for housebuilders, many first-time buyers look to be putting off their first step onto the housing ladder for at least another 12 months.
“We believe that businesses who help buyers through the uncertain times, are likely to win customers when their confidence returns.”
