The number of first-time buyers purchasing properties in the UK has risen to a record high this year, data from the first half of 2024 now shows.
This could be a result of first-time buyers rushing to take advantage of current stamp duty relief before the current threshold of £425,000 reverts to £300,000 in April 2025.
Alternatively, first-time buyers could also be jumping on market trends which have seen property prices fall in some of the most desirable cities across the country.
New figures from Hamptons Estate Agents shows first-time buyers made up a third of house sales so far this year, up six percentage points from 2023, at 26.8 percent.
London boroughs make up four of the five top areas being chosen by people just stepping on the property ladder, the research shows.
In all these areas, the share of first-time buyers recorded is over 57 percent, the research noted.
Rental costs in the city skyrocketed last year, peaking in November, and in the months following it appears more young people have taken the leap and decided to move onto the property ladder.
Three of the top five areas favoured by first-time buyers were in east London: Newham, Barking and Degenham, and Havering.
South of the river, Wandsworth was also among the top locations for first-time property purchases.
In the last year, properties in Newham sold for an average price of £463,000, with the majority of sales being flats and some terraced properties fetching an average of £515,000.
In the UK, the average house costs £282,000, but in London the average property sold for £707,000.
In Havering, the average house sold for £442,000, and in Barking and Dagenham, the costs dropped further to around £398,000.
Wandsworth remained more costly than east London and above the city average, with an overall average price of £923,000, although the majority of sales were flats, which sold for around £625,000.
