First-time buyer mortgage searches came to 292,890 in January, an increase of almost 92% compared to December, figures show.
Figures from Twenty7tec show that January was the busiest month for first-time buyer searches since February last year.
However, searches in this category are 11% down on the same period last year.
The report noted that January 2025 was the sixth-busiest month ever for this category of searches.
Twenty7tec said it was the 10th-highest ever month for first-time buyers as a proportion of the total mortgage enquiries, at around 19.5%. This compares to an all-time high of 22.5% in April 2021, when stamp duty holidays were extended.
Around 109,551 ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet) documents for first-time buyers were made, which is the fourth-highest month on record.
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First-time buyers made up a quarter of all ESIS documents created, which is above the long-term average of 19.5%.
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, said: “The year is off to a great start for first-time buyers, with mortgage searches up 91.44% on the prior month, making January the busiest month since February 2023 and the sixth-busiest month ever for first-time buyer mortgage search activity.
“Despite this, it’s important to note that although the month-on-month reporting is positive, mortgage searches by first-time buyers are still 10.44% down year-on-year compared to January 2023, reflecting ongoing affordability challenges and shifting market conditions. In other words, it’s good, but it has been better.”
He continued: “However there’s still some cause for celebration, with first-time buyers creating a record month for market share in January, accounting for 25% of all ESIS documents created – the highest proportion since reporting began. Additionally, in the high-LTV, 90-100% mortgage market, first-time buyers made up 51.4% of activity, the highest share ever recorded on our systems.”
