First-time buyer numbers continue to dwindle

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by Kay Murchie

According to property website, Rightmove, the proportion of people who plan to buy a home who are first-time buyers has fallen for the second quarter in a row to almost 26%.

Rightmove said the situation is worse in Scotland, where only one fifth of people planning to buy a home in the coming year are first-time buyers, followed closely behind by the East Midlands at 21%.

However, the capital is the only area in which the proportion of prospective buyers who are first-time buyers is close to the average 43%, but this is down from 48% in the third quarter of 2009.

First-time buyers have been struggling since the onset of the credit crunch to get a foot on the property ladder as without a hefty deposit, they have been unable to secure a mortgage.

However, this group of people are a major part to the housing market and the lack of first-time buyers “delay any prospect of a meaningful market recovery”, according to Rightmove.

The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that 198,200 people purchased their first home during the 2009 year. While this was up from the 193,700 in 2008, it still represents the second lowest figure since 1974.