Estate agents record more sales to first time buyers in UK

The number of people looking to buy a home in the UK increased at the end of 2016 with estate agents also recording record December sales to first time buyers.

But the number of sales agreed fell despite the heightened interest from buyers overall, according to the latest monthly report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

Overall the number of prospective buyers registered per branch last month was the highest in 13 years for the month of December at an average of 386 per branch, up 12% compared with the previous month.

In December some 32% of sales were made to first time buyers, the highest number for the month of December since 2001 when it was also 32% and up 10% compared to the previous month.

The number of properties available to buy on estate agents’ books in December was 41, a marginal increase from November when there were 39.

However, despite an increase in supply and demand, the number of sales agreed dropped by 25% from eight in November to six in December.

‘In November we saw a seasonal slowdown as typically it’s uncommon for people to buy and move close to Christmas. Yet, our December findings have completely bucked this seasonal trend,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director.

‘With demand at an all-time December high and sales to first time buyers at their highest on record, 2016 closed on a positive note following several months of uncertainty,’ he pointed out.

‘However, despite an encouraging December, there remains a clear shortage of homes. We await the government’s housing white paper to see how it intends to tackle this and hope the market continues to improve for both buyers and sellers,’ he added.