Just 25% will be first-time home buyers

Published on 09/11/2012 01:55

Only a quarter of people planning to buy a home next year will be first-time buyers – a share which is still well below the ­levels needed for a “healthy” market, research has found.

Almost a quarter (22 per cent) of these buyers will have raised a deposit of less than 10 per cent by the time they try to make a purchase – meaning their range of mortgage options and their access to the most competitive deals will be restricted, property website Rightmove has warned.

The website found first-time buyers are just 25 per cent of people looking to buy a home over the next year, which is “well adrift” of the 40 per cent often seen before the credit crunch.

London has double the potential first-time buyers than most of the rest of Britain, with a 45 per cent share, compared with just under 20 per cent in Wales. and Scotland on 21.4 per cent.

Raising a deposit remains the biggest concern, with 36 per cent of people saying that this is their main hurdle.

The study also revealed that two-fifths of those with a deposit of at least 10 per cent said they had saved for five years or more.