The number of first-time buyers in March leapt to a total of 32,500 – the highest figure since June 2014, the latest First-Time Buyer Tracker from Your Move and Reeds Rains reveals today.
On average, Londoners put down by far the largest deposit of any region in the three months to February 2016, shelling out £73,676
The number of first-time buyers in March leapt to a total of 32,500 – the highest figure since June 2014, the latest First-Time Buyer Tracker from Your Move and Reeds Rains reveals today.
First-time buyer volumes grew by almost half (47.7%) on a monthly basis, stepping up a gear from 2016’s steady start.
Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “A flurry of first-timers illustrates a property market progressing at a powerful pace as we head further into 2016.
“Much was made of March being the month of the buy-to-let landlord and the second-home owner. To an extent that was true – but it’s now clear none of that interest was at the expense of the bottom rungs of the ladder. Would-be first-time buyers are clamouring to own their own home, and we are seeing a sustained surge in demand for suitable homes this spring.
“A continuation of the broadly positive economic climate has likely been a factor spurring would-be first-time buyers to get off the fence and onto the ladder.
“However, what’s really getting those numbers up is the fact that the range of support options available to first-time buyers is at last beginning to be recognised and utilised. The Help to Buy scheme is assisting those with limited capital recognise their dreams, while the Government’s offer of cut-price homes for first-time buyers is easing supply in a part of the market that typically struggles to match roaring demand with constrained supply.”
In the capital, the average value of a first-time buyer property hit £321,247 in the three months to March 2016. Second to London, the South East is the second-most expensive region, with average FTB house prices there standing at £214,574 over the same period.
Conversely, the North East and Northern Ireland rank as the least expensive regions for first-time buyer properties. Average first-time buyer property values stand at £113,909 in the North East and £99,298 in Northern Ireland. Across the UK, the average price for a first home stood at £154,889 in the three months to March 2016.
On average, Londoners put down by far the largest deposit of any region in the three months to February 2016, shelling out £73,676 – more than five times the size of the average first-time buyer deposit in Wales (£12,872). The second-largest deposits are paid by South Eastern first-time buyers, who paid an average of £39,663 to secure their first home in the three months to March 2016. Nationwide, the average first-time buyer paid out £25,270 in deposit costs.
Gill added: “With values in London reaching more than double those of the rest of the UK, the dominance of the capital appears to be entrenched – and it’s little wonder given the cultural and economic allure of one of the most prosperous cities on earth. However, as London begins to inhabit a price bracket of its own, other trends are emerging in the UK housing market.
“Many families and young professionals, unready for the costs of the capital and its satellite towns, are looking to put down roots beyond the south eastern corner of the UK. The above-average deposit costs in the South West demonstrate the popularity of cities like Bristol and Exeter, which boast many of the same professional-level job opportunities in London, as well as similar infrastructure, but vastly lower home values.”
