First-time buyer numbers have reached their highest level for well over a year, according to statistics released by the mortgage industry trade body.
The latest Mortgage Trends Update revealed 35,500 new first-time buyer mortgages were completed in August, which is 2% up on the same month a year earlier.
And the £1.6 billion of new lending during the month was 5.2% more year-on-year, according to UK Finance, which compiled the statistics.
Its director of mortgages, Jackie Bennett, said overall house purchase completions had remained stable but this had been driven largely by the number of first-time buyers, which reached its highest monthly level since June 2017.
Good opportunities
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker, SPF Private Clients, said this showed first-time buyers were the ‘lifeblood’ of the housing market.
He added: “Lenders continue to offer competitively-priced high loan-to-value products to attract them and with property prices softening in some areas, there are good opportunities for those trying to get on the ladder for the first time.”
Some industry experts pointed to the Bank of Mum and Dad as being a vital support in helping more first-time buyers realise their dream of homeownership. And others said Government schemes and incentives could also have played a role in bolstering the figures.
Help to Buy
Indeed John Philips, operations director of Just Mortgages and Spicerhaart, said: “Considering that homemover mortgages are down, this just shows how much of an impact incentives aimed at first time buyers – for example the stamp duty freeze and Help to Buy – are having.”
But not all industry commentators were enthused by the statistics. Indeed, commenting on UK Finance data which identified trends amongst first-time buyers, Ross Boyd of mortgage platform Dashly.com said: “That the average first-time buyer is now age 30 and earning over £40,000 would have been baffling just two decades ago.
“That is the brutal reality of buying in Britain. On a more positive note, Help to Buy is really helping people to buy, while the path for the first-time buyers has been made easier still by reduced competition from landlords.”
