The number of people searching for new homes soared in January but the increased competition has impacted negatively on first-time buyers.
January saw a boom in house hunting with demand from prospective buyers soaring by more than a third.
NAEA Propertymark reported estate agents had registered 376 house hunters per branch in January compared to 268 in December.
The organisation which represents estate agents also revealed in its January Housing Report that branches had not registered so many potential property hunters on their books since September 2017, when there were 394 per branch.
January is typically a boom time for estate agents, with buyers and sellers re-entering the market following the festive slump.
Indeed, in line with the increased demand, the report also revealed the number of sellers also went up from an average of 33 per branch in December to 36 in January.
But it also reported sales were down amongst first-time buyers, falling from 32% in December to 27% in January.
Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark said: “While this is good news for the market generally, the increased competition seems to have affected first-time buyers, who generally have less bargaining power when it comes to bidding for properties.”
He added: “Our members have noticed first-time buyers holding off on making purchases typically outside of London, and saving for longer to maximise the full stamp duty relief.
“They’re skipping the ‘first time home’ and moving straight into their second homes, to avoid growing out of their property in four or five years and facing the cost of stamp duty.
“This is a smart move and an example of how first-time buyers are making legislation work to their advantage.”
