First-time buyer registrations see annual 16.5% fall: haart

This is despite the average purchase price for first-time buyers decreasing by 1.5% on the month and by 0.7% on the year.

New buyer registrations rose by 1.7% on the month and 5.4% annually in April, but stock continues to fall across England and Wales.

The number of properties coming onto the market this month fell by 0.7% and has by 3.4% on the year.

House prices across England and Wales fell by 0.8% on the month and by 3.6% on the year. The average house price now sits at £217,785.

Paul Smith, CEO of haart, commented: “Pent up demand was the theme in April, as it has been throughout the year, as a lack of stock continues to stifle the market. There are now 12 buyers chasing every instruction across the UK, as new buyer registrations return to a pre-Brexit vote levels and the number of new instructions continues to fall. Although transactions still managed to jump up on the year by 6.5%, the boost could be much more significant if the demands of the thousands more looking to move are met.

“This picture is magnified in London where there are 28 new buyers for every instruction. Despite significant demand prices are continuing to readjust, and prices have actually dropped very slightly from where they were last year.

“But the sluggish home movers market is, in turn, boosting competition of rental stock and pushing up returns for landlords. The tenants registering has jumped up 34% on the year in London – so there are now 14 aspiring tenants registering for every buy to let property listed. Which in turn has pushed up rental prices by 6% on the year.

“For months non-Brexit related policy has fallen down the agenda, and now with a leadership challenge and potentially a general election on the horizon, heads are likely to be turned even more. The housing market plays a vital role in the health of the UK economy, and there is certainly more we can do to inject confidence and bring it back to life. Policymakers must seriously consider replicating incentives agreed to first-time buyers to downsizes, to introduce vital fluidity back into the market.”