The number of first-time buyers has surged by 10% year-on-year to 154,200 in H1 2016 despite the average deposit rising by 14% to £33,960 in the past year, reflecting the increase in house prices over the period.
First-time buyers made up 47% of the mortgage market in the first half of 2016 – up from 38% five years ago, Halifax’s First-Time Buyer Review has revealed.
The number of first-time buyers has surged by 10% year-on-year to 154,200 in H1 2016 despite the average deposit rising by 14% to £33,960 in the past year, reflecting the increase in house prices over the period.
Chris Gowland, mortgages director at Halifax, said: “There was a further increase in the number of first-time buyers in the first half of the year with the total exceeding 100,000 in the first six months of each year since 2012.
“This rise has been broadly in line with a general improvement in market activity and is likely to have been helped by government measures including the Help to Buy scheme.
“Although numbers remain below their previous peaks and many potential first-time buyers are facing escalating house prices and deposit sizes, record low mortgage rates continue to make buying seem a more attractive option than renting.”
East Dunbartonshire in Scotland was the most affordable local area district in the UK with an average FTB property price of £97,089, 2.6 times local annual average gross earnings.
At the other end of the spectrum was Brent in London with an average price of £457,014 – 12.5 times typical yearly earnings in the area.
