Number of first-time buyers rises

THE number of first-time buyers getting on the property ladder with a mortgage in the past 12 months was at its highest level since 2006, according to estimates from a building society.

Across the UK, 367,038 first-time buyers secured mortgages in 2018, up from 362,800 in 2017, analysis from Yorkshire Building Society suggests. The figures suggest first-time buyer levels now represent half (50 per cent) of all homes bought with a mortgage.

The Yorkshire said its findings indicate the first-time buyer mortgage market share across 2018 reached its highest levels since 1995, when 53 per cent of all mortgage-financed homes were bought by first-time buyers.

It made the calculations based on market-wide first-time buyer data from trade association UK Finance using figures which run up to October. The society also estimated figures for November and December based on previous first-time buyer patterns.

Nitesh Patel, Yorkshire Building Society’s strategic economist, said: “The figures indicate that Government initiatives such as stamp duty relief, Help to Buy equity loans and Help to Buy Isas may have made an impact.”