Number of first-time buyers fell by 9 per cent last year but still made up more than half of all home purchases
- The number of first-time homebuyers has dropped down from a 20-year high
- Figures have dropped to 370,287 in 2022 from an estimated 405,320 in 2021
- First-time buyers represented over half of all purchases with a mortgage in 2022
The number of first-time homebuyers is estimated to have fallen by about 9 per cent last year.
Across the UK, the number of people taking their first step on to the property ladder was estimated to have dropped to 370,287 across 2022, down from a 20-year high of 405,320 in 2021, Yorkshire Building Society said.
It added that the housing markets in 2020 and 2021 were skewed by the impacts of the pandemic.
Across the UK, the number of people taking their first step on to the property ladder was estimated to have dropped to 370,287 across 2022
Despite the fall, first-time buyers in 2022 were believed to represent more than half (53 per cent) of all house purchases with a mortgage, up from 50 per cent in 2021, and 41 per cent a decade ago.
Nitesh Patel, from Yorkshire Building Society, said: ‘Demand from first-time buyers remains strong, even with house prices at historic highs and the country experiencing economic uncertainty.’