Recent figures have suggested that the level of first time buyers in the UK have fallen to the lowest in the period of a year. The National Association of Estate Agents has stated that the number of first time buyers entering the property market has fallen to the lowest level this year, and is in fact at its lowest since November of 2008.

The figures from the National Association of Estate Agents show that just 19 percent of buyers in November were first time buyers.

The figure reflected a drop of 3 percent compared to the previous months, and was at its lowest level since last November. In comparison around 45 percent of new buyers in May of this year were first time buyers, and difficult market conditions combined with seasonal factors are thought to have contributed to the sliding level of first time buyers entering the property market towards the latter part of this year.

One of the factors that may have affected the number of first time buyers getting onto the property ladder in November is the end of the stamp duty holiday, which comes to an end at the end of this year.

Many first time buyers have flocked to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday over recent months, but many may have feared that buying a property towards the end of the year may have meant that they would not be in time to benefit from the stamp duty holiday before it came to an end.

Gary Smith, the president of the National Association of Estate Agents, said that ending the stamp duty holiday so suddenly could really impact upon the property market. He said: “Any tax holidays result in a distortion in the market and in the case of stamp duty, needed to be carefully managed and phased out, rather than falling off a cliff. Unfortunately, as first-time buyers often form the foundation of selling chains, there could be repercussion throughout the sector.”

Leave a comment