According to the latest figures from Rightmove, the average two-year fixed rate at 80% loan to value (LTV) has come down from 5.21% to 4.38% over the last year.
Over the same period, the average five-year fixed rate at 80% LTV has fallen from 4.91% to 4.52%.
The average asking price for a typical first-time buyer property is £227,466, which compares to £227,924 last year.
The most expensive cities for the first-time buyers were London, St Albans and Cambridge, which have average asking prices of £497,295, £387,882 and £361,709 respectively.
| Rank | Location | Average asking price |
| 1 | London | £497,295 |
| 2 | St Albans | £387,882 |
| 3 | Cambridge | £361,709 |
| 4 | Oxford | £346,672 |
| 5 | Brighton | £327,644 |
| 6 | Winchester | £327,431 |
| 7 | Bristol | £277,468 |
| 8 | Chelmsford | £264,141 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | £254,666 |
| 10 | Southend-on-Sea | £244,397 |
Conversations you need to have with landlords before the Renters’ Rights Act
Sponsored by BM Solutions
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest cities for first-time buyers were Aberdeen, Hull and Carlisle. Average asking prices came to £97,235, £111,823 and £113,570 respectively.
| Rank | Location | Average asking price |
| 1 | Aberdeen | £97,235 |
| 2 | Hull | £111,823 |
| 3 | Carlisle | £113,570 |
| 4 | Sunderland | £115,590 |
| 5 | Dundee | £115,835 |
| 6 | Bradford | £116,053 |
| 7 | Preston | £118,919 |
| 8 | Stoke-on-Trent | £123,993 |
| 9 | Doncaster | £127,750 |
| 10 | Swansea | £133,602 |
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “Affordability is still playing a key role in market activity right now. The factors [that] contribute to buyer affordability are improving, and if we see further bank rate reductions this year followed by mortgage rate drops, this could spur more buyers on during the second half of this year.”
