A WORRYING TREND: The first-time buyer sector remains a challenging environment to get onto the ladder, Rightmove said
According to the report, the first-time buyer sector saw a 4 per cent increase in agreed sales in March compared to four years earlier in March 2019. However, sales of higher-priced homes were still below the levels observed four years ago.Rising rents may be encouraging some first-time buyers to make the jump onto the property ladder, despite higher mortgage rates generally having pushed up borrowing costs, the report suggested.
Looking at all property types across Britain, the average price of a home coming to market increased by 0.2 per cent or £890 in April, which was lower than the typical uplift of 1.2 per cent seen at this time of year. The average price tag on a home generally in April was £366,247. Karl Tatler, managing director at Wirral-based Karl Tatler Estate Agents, said: “The beginning of the spring market has been a real turning point, after a difficult start to the year and following the turbulence of the last three months of 2022. Listing figures are comparable with last year, while viewing figures are down only slightly, which given the exceptional market of last year is quite remarkable.