The housing market returned to growth in Q2 with first-time buyers making up 24% of all spending, the highest share in eight years, data from a property firm showed.
According to analysis from Savills, first-time buyers spent £21bn during the period, a £4.1bn increase on the year before.
In total, £88bn was spent on house purchases in the second quarter, which was 8% or £6.6bn higher than the same period in 2023.
In the year to June, some £350bn was spent making the value of the UK housing market higher than its pre-pandemic average. Savills said the rise in spending was fuelled by a 22% rise in the amount of mortgage debt advanced by lenders, as the market stabilised.
This was at a value of £37.1bn.
Meanwhile, spending by cash buyers accounted for 39% of spending in Q2, a £2bn fall on the previous quarter. This was down on 2023, when cash buyers made up 43% of all spending in the housing market.
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Rise in first-time buyer and BTL housing market debt
In Q2, the amount of debt held by first-time buyers rose 27% annually to £16.4bn, while debt held by buy-to-let (BTL) borrowers increased by a quarter to £2.5bn.
Homemover debt rose 18% to £18.1bn year-on-year.
The value of equity held by first-time buyers increased by 15% annually to £4.6bn, while equity held by BTL borrowers rose 15% to £1.1bn. Homemovers had £10.9bn equity in the UK housing market in Q2, an 11% rise on the year before.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “As interest rates continue to ease, we can expect to see the size of the housing market expand further over the next 12 months. Lower mortgage costs will encourage a wider range of buyers back to the housing market.
“In particular, we should see an increase in upsizers who put plans to trade up the housing market on hold in the face of higher mortgage costs. This cohort is likely to be at the forefront of that growth, although some may wait until after the government’s October Budget before taking the leap.”
