Wandsworth was the second most popular place in the UK for FTBs, which accounted for 72% of the homes sold in the borough so far this year
First-time buyers account for half of the homes sold in London in the first quarter of 2024, according to Hamptons.
Wandsworth was the second most popular place in the UK for FTBs, which accounted for 72% of the homes sold in the borough so far this year.
In Brent, Greenwich and Newham, 68% of the homes sold in the first months of 2024 have been to FTBs.
In Havering, 65% of homes were sold to new home owners, and in Barking and Dagenham it was 61%.
A combination of record-breaking rent rises in 2023 and mortgage rates coming down in the first months of this year has encouraged more FTBs to enter the market, according to Hamptons.
In 2023, 41% of London home purchases were made by FTBs.
A decade ago, the share of new homeowners was only 28%.
FTBs are currently spending £422,660 on average on a house in London — £19,000 more than the average first home in the capital in 2023.
But it is £108,710 less that the average first home in the capital in 2020.
While mortgage rates have declined to nearly 4%, it is still much more expensive to take out a first mortgage than it was five years ago.
But London’s record-breaking rent increases have made the alternative much less appealing.
Rents increased 6.9% on average across the capital in 2023, per the ONS, the highest annual rise since records began.
A report from Hamptons found Londoners spent £32.1 billion on rent last year — the same as the value of all the homes sold in the capital in the same period.
In a bid to escape the heated rental market, FTBs have dominated the sales market this year, said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons.
This unprecedented move comes despite a limited package of government support measures, said Beveridge. Instead, with high mortgage rates limiting their ability to borrow, most are compromising on a smaller home to get a foot onto the housing ladder.