First-time buyer completions drop in January

First-time buyer completions fell in January as the market recovers from the festive season, Your Move and Reeds Rains says in its latest first-time buyer tracker. Completions dropped to 21,200, or 19 per cent on December 2014. This decline is a natural seasonal development as applications usually tend to decrease in the weeks before Christmas. […]

First-time buyer completions fell in January as the market recovers from the festive season, Your Move and Reeds Rains says in its latest first-time buyer tracker.

Completions dropped to 21,200, or 19 per cent on December 2014. This decline is a natural seasonal development as applications usually tend to decrease in the weeks before Christmas.

Another common effect around Christmas is a decline in first-time buyer numbers.

Historic data supports these statements with first-time buyer completions falling by 18 per cent on the month in January 2014, by 20 per cent in January 2013 and by 31 per cent in 2012.

There are indications for a potential rise in first-time buyer completions in the next few months, according to Your Move and Reeds Rains. The latest Mortgage Monitor from e.surv chartered surveyors showed an increase in LTV lending in January. Loans to higher LTV borrowers grew 20.1% between December and January, with 10,064 loans to borrowers with deposits worth 15% or less of their property’s total value in the first month of 2015.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, commented:

“Lending dropped away a little in the run-up to Christmas, but approvals have bounced back a little in January, and demand at the bottom of the market remains strong. After the usual seasonal dip we expect completions in this part of the purchase market to reflect steadier front-end sales activity. Slow and steady progress – in line with improving household finances – is the order of the day.”

*Compiled by Your Move and Reeds Rains