FTB activity sees winter slowdown

The number of buyers taking their first step onto the ladder in the festive month stood at 26,600 – a fall of 4.7% on the previous month of November, when the figure totalled 27,900.

However, more significantly and over the course of 2015, first-time buyer activity has grown steadily, with volumes up by 1.1% – or 300 more first-time buyers per month – between December 2014 and December 2015.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, comments: “December’s first-time buyer market is once again suffering from the effects of the Christmas crunch. Most of those looking for their first home turn their attention – and their finances – towards an often very costly festive season. As a rule, they tend to put their home ownership ambitions on hold until the New Year. It’s an inevitable part of the seasonal cycle that the property market goes through every year.

Beyond this, an examination of the year-on-year figures reveals a property market that – festive slowdown aside – is going from strength to strength. Steady growth over the course of the year indicates a resurgence in first-time buyer confidence. First-time buyers have been buoyed by a positive economic climate and a range of Government incentives – such as the reduction of Stamp Duty on lower-priced properties – designed to lessen at least the immediate costs of home ownership. They have increasingly come into their stride as 2015 has progressed. Some of the credit for this revival in activity should also go to first-time buyers themselves. Over the course of the year they have toughened up their act and sought to get the best property they can at the best price – it’s a skill that will serve this group well as they head into 2016.”