The first half of 2016 has proved to be positive for first time buyers nationwide, as the number able to get themselves on the property level saw a surprising increase compared with the same period in 2015.
According to Halifax, the number of first time buyers in the UK increased by an estimated 10% with an estimated 154,200 first-time buyers bagging themselves their first home. This figure is more than double the market low we saw in the first half of 2009 when just 72,700 first time buyers purchased a home.
However, a figure that shows how the property market has changed in the last 10 years, is there are still nearly 40,000 fewer new buyers in 2016 than there were in the first half of 2006. Research also shows that first time buyers are forking out substantially more money for a deposit, largely reflecting the increase in house prices. The average deposit paid by those buying their first home in May 2016 was £33,960 – more than double that in 2007 (£16,400).
The 10 least affordable Local Authority Districts (LADs) for first time buyers are all in London. The least affordable is Brent where the average first time buyer property price of £457,014 is 12.5 times gross average annual earnings in the area.
East Dunbartonshire in Scotland is the most affordable LAD in the UK with an average property price of £97,089, some 2.6 times local annual average gross earnings. Copeland in the North West is the next most affordable and five of the 10 most affordable LADs for first time buyers are in Scotland.
It is believed that a combination of record high employment levels, cheap mortgage rates and the government Help to Buy scheme are all contributing factors to the increase in first time buyer activity.
