Mortgage News
FTBs increasingly “endangered” in 2012 – Rightmove
Only 23% of people intending to buy a property over the next 12 months will be first-time buyers, compared to typical levels of 40% before the credit crisis, Rightmove has said.
This is down from 26% a year ago, its first-time buyer forecast revealed.
Rightmove found that 56% of those hoping to make their first house purchase in 2012 expect to put down a deposit of £20,000 or more, with raising sufficient funds to meet deposit requirements the biggest worry among 36% of potential buyers.
There was also a jump in those citing worries about personal financial security, at 14% up from 10% last quarter.
The report also found that 61% of first-time buyers believe house prices in their local area are above what is fair and reasonable, compared with 47% of those who already own a home.
Rightmove revealed the average age of a first-time buyer next year will be 32, while “trapped renters” – those who want to buy but cannot afford to – are typically older at around 35.
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Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “The first-time buyer remains an endangered species. They perform an essential role at the foot of the property market food chain in allowing sellers on the bottom rung of the housing ladder to trade up, and this makes them highly-prized.”
The survey showed that greater London is the only area where the proportion of first-time buyers is predicted to be a “healthy” level of 41.9% in 2012.
This drops to 23.6% for the West Midlands in second place. Only 17.1% of buyers are expected to be first-timers next year in the South West, the lowest proportion in the UK.