First-time buyers have been driving the property market so far this year, with numbers surpassing those moving up to the next rung of the property ladder.
According to Lloyds Bank, this is the first time homemover numbers have been outstripped by first-time buyers since 1995.
Its Homemover Review revealed people moving home dipped in the first six months of 2018 and now accounted for just under half of the housing market. In 2011 it represented 62% of the market.
This meant there were just 170,000 homemovers in the first half of this year compared to 175,000 first-time buyers. This is also down 1% on the same period last year and 16% from the second half of 2017.
The drop in homemovers comes just a year after it was reported the numbers had reached their highest level in ten years.
Property shortage and slow market
According to Lloyds this reduction in numbers could have been caused by a shortage of suitable properties but is also a reflection of the broader housing market, which is currently sluggish.
Andrew Mason, mortgage products director for Lloyds Bank said the homemover market had stabilised despite continuing low mortgage rates and had left first-time buyers driving housing activity.
He added: “This may be in part due to the Help to Buy scheme enabling first-time buyers to purchase a new property, combined with the low availability of the ‘right type’ of homes for those looking to move up the housing ladder.
“The costs of moving house and potential further interest rate rises may also be weighing on potential homebuyers’ minds. However, it is good to see the first-time buyers increasing, helping to keep some movement along the property ladder.”
Lloyds’ Homemover Review also revealed, over the past five years, the average price paid by people moving house grew by £77,457 which is 35%. People were paying an average of £219,479 to move in 2013 but this has soared to a record high of £296,936.
Deposits have also grown significantly over these same five years, said Lloyds, with the average put down by a homemover rising by 31% from £76,303 in 2013 to £99,592 in 2018.
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