Home sales to first time buyers in the UK have reached a three year low, falling to 20% in August, the latest monthly report from estate agents shows.
The fall comes on the back of sales to first time buyers reaching 29% in June and 30% in July to reach their lowest level since August 2015, according to the housing report from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
The data also shows that the number of house hunters registered per member branch rose by 6% month on month from 303 in July to 320 in August.
Year on year however, demand is down 7% as there were 343 prospective house hunters registered on estate agents’ books in August 2017.
The number of properties available to buy fell for the first time since April, from 41% per branch in July to 40 in August while the number of sales agreed per branch increased marginally in August from eight to nine.
‘Every year the housing market slows down over the summer. In July first time buyers took advantage of these market conditions, with sales to the group rising to 30% and while we expected this to be short-lived, we hoped it would at least last the summer,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA chief executive.