As the supply of homes for sale increases, the number of buyers has decreased with first-time buyers at their lowest since May 2013, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.
In its latest six-page Housing Market Report, the NAEA has shown that the average percentage of first-time buyers decreased from 25 per cent in May to 20 per cent in June.
Younger buyers are still struggling to get on to the property ladder with only 3 per cent of those aged 18-30, compared with 48 per cent of buyers aged 31 to 40.
The average number of house sales per estate agent branch has also decreased. In June, there were an average of 46 properties available per NAEA member branch, compared with 44 in May.
Following the recent announcement by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, on the cap on high-risk mortgages, 78 per cent of NAEA members felt it would affect the number of first-time buyers and home-owners looking to move.
ADVISER VIEW
Graeme Inglis, director of the Fife-based Create and Prosper Financial Services, said: “I would say that help-to-buy is having an effect, the fact that it has been reduced and fewer people are applying for mortgages.”
