First-time buyers hit 12-year high
THE number of first-time buyers is at its highest level since 2006, according to figures yesterday.
Across the UK, 367,038 new owners secured mortgages in 2018, up from 362,800 in 2017, analysis from Yorkshire Building Society shows.
First-time buyers now make up half of all buyers and their market share is the highest since 1995, when 53 per cent of all homes purchased were bought by first-time buyers.
The number of first-time buyer mortgages in 2018 was nearly double that in 2008 (193,300) and just nine per cent lower than the pre-crisis peak of 402,800 in 2006.
Nitesh Patel, Yorkshire Building Society’s strategic economist, said: “Property prices have grown at a faster rate than wages over the past decade, which has created difficulties for first-time buyers. Various factors have helped to alleviate this challenging environment, although the market is still pretty tough for those wanting to become homeowners.
“Figures indicate that Government initiatives such as stamp duty relief, Help to Buy equity loans and Help to Buy Isas may have had an impact.
“Over the past three or four years we’ve also seen more lenders offering 95 per cent loan-to-value mortgages, as well as strong competition driving mortgage rates down.”
He said while buying a home may have become more accessible in some ways, “getting on to the housing ladder is still not an easy step for many young people, as demonstrated by the increasing numbers who have received help from the bank of mum and dad”.
He added: “Despite these challenges, the first-time buyer market has bounced back following the financial crisis. Buying your first home remains tough, but it’s encouraging to see first-time buyer levels at a 12-year high and climbing.”
The news follows other figures showing home ownership among young families is on the rise for the first time in 30 years, as they take advantage of stagnant prices and rock-bottom mortgage rates.
Around 28 per cent of couples aged 25 to 34 with children now own a home, according to the Resolution Foundation think-tank. That is up three per cent from the all-time low of 25 per cent in 2016, and equivalent to another 190,000 families on the property ladder. Analysts said sluggish price growth had helped first-time buyers. Prices rose just 2.7 per cent this year, said Land Registry figures, the lowest increase since July 2013. The average UK property is now worth £231,095.
Daniel Tomlinson, of the Resolution Foundation, said: “After decades of falling home ownership, recent conditions in the housing market are finally helping more young families buy a home.”