First Time Buyer Levels Lowest for 17 Years

The number of first time buyers fell to a 17 year low in 2009. Just 347,000 first time buyers took out a mortgage last year. This figure is 100,000 below the previous low in February 1993 and is half the 700,000 in the year ending April 2005 and below the average of 561,000.

This fall can be largely attributed by the tightening of lenders' restrictions, with larger deposits being demanded for first time buyers with best rates reserved for those borrowers with a deposit of 60% of more.

Mortgage Lending Figures Show Mixed Messages

Mortgage lending jumped in March, up 24% on February at £11.5bn. However, the total lending for the first quarter of 2010 was down on the same period in 2009 and were at their lowest level since the first quarter of 2000.

Overall, the figures indicate a subdued market which we expect will continue throughout this year.

Housing Market Activity Picks Up

The National Assoc of Estate Agents has confirmed a report earlier this week that activity in the housing market has picked up, with the number of potential sellers at its highest level for six months and the number of prospective buyers up 7%.

A Rics survey early this week showed supply picking up strongly, leading to a possible stabilisation in prices. The NAEA survey shows the number of properties on agents' books rising from an average of 56 to 60 in March.

Sales have also risen from an average of 6.8 per branch in February to 8 in March, no doubt helped by the improvement in the weather!

House Sellers Returning

The number of house sellers jumped in March, to a level not seen since March 2007, just before the housing market slump. The RICS report shows that instructions from sellers outstripped enquiries from buyers for the 3rd month in a row, in a change that is likely to see a slowdown in the rise of house prices as the supply of houses increases.

The average number of unsold houses on surveyors' books increased by 6% in February to 67 per surveyor, still far short of the 90 at the peak of the market.

The number of new home loan granted to buyers in February was 12% higher than in January but more significantly, it was up 49% on a year ago.

Annual house price inflation rose to 7.4% in February from 6.2%.