First-Time Buyer Sales Hit High

NAEA Propertymark has released its October 2019 Housing Report, revealing that property sales to First-Time Buyers (FTB) increased to the highest level seen since February 2019.

According to the report this is an increase of 8 percentage points from September 2018 when it stood at 22 per cent. However, the number of sales agreed fell for the first time in four months.     

Mark Hayward FNAEA, Chief Executive of NAEA Propertymark said: "Despite a fall in demand from house hunters, first-time buyers have continued to show resilience as they take advantage of favourable market conditions and drive their transactions forward. The recent mortgage data released from UK Finance shows the number of first-time buyer mortgage completions reached its highest monthly level in August 2019 since August 2007, further highlighting this trend.”

“Low or no stamp duty on lower priced properties have proved to be a big reason behind this boost in the FTB market, however they could also be concerned that the market may turn against them if a Brexit deal is achieved and are buying now to avoid that scenario. Until we are clearer on what the future holds, it’s likely we’ll continue seeing the number of first-time buyer sales rising.”