Reallymoving publishes its new Property Market Intelligence Report
Reallymoving publishes its new Property Market Intelligence Report, showing First-Time Buyer inflation considerably lower than other mover groups.
The key findings for Q2 2021 are:
- Despite some home mover types paying more year on year and in Q2 versus Q1, the double digit house price inflation reported by other indices is mostly due to activity among those upsizing or investing. First-Time Buyer inflation is clearly a lot lower, likely due to caps on what they can afford because they need to rely on a mortgage, while other home mover types may have benefited from equity growth and can therefore afford to pay more than in 2020.
- Not only does price paid vary by mover type, so does house price inflation. Although general property prices are reported as rising year on year, inflation for Upsizers is highest at 10% YoY and 4.9% Q2 vs Q1, while First-Time Buyers are paying just 2.5% more YoY and 1.9% more in Q2 vs Q1.
|
|
2021 Q1 |
2021 Q2 |
Quarterly change |
Annual change |
| First-Time Buyer |
£246,000 |
£250,000 |
1.9% |
2.5% |
| Upsizer |
£398,000 |
£418,000 |
4.9% |
10.0% |
| Downsizer |
£301,000 |
£316,000 |
5.1% |
5.1% |
| Investor |
£194,000 |
£205,000 |
5.5% |
14.9% |
- Regional variations alongside different mover types show a vast difference from one area to another, with First-Time Buyers paying on average just over £137,000 in the North East through to those in London paying in excess of £430,000.
- Despite the average property price being just over £250,000 across the UK, our data shows 85% of buyers in the North East pay less than this.
Reallymoving has produced a new quarterly Property Market Intelligence Report, which uses data from more than 27,000 conveyancing quotes completed by buyers and sellers in Q2 2021 to give a more nuanced snapshot of the housing market, depending on where you’re buying and which buyer category you fall into (FTB, Upsizers, Downsizer, Investor) – rather than the typical average UK house prices.
Rob Houghton, Chief Executive of reallymoving, comments:
“Our new property price analysis by home mover type shows that despite a seemingly unusual year in the property market, there are plenty of opportunities this year for those who want to move, even after the Stamp Duty holiday has ended. We want everyone to feel that their moving home goals are achievable and not be put off because they were looking at data that was too general. Average property price data is not helpful without context, so we have looked at property prices and inflation by location as well as by category of mover.”
The double digit house price inflation reported by other indices is mostly due to activity among those upsizing or investing. First-Time Buyer inflation is clearly a lot lower (2.5% annually, vs 10% for Upsizers), no doubt due to caps on what they can afford because they need to rely on a mortgage, while other home mover types may have benefited from equity growth and can therefore afford to pay more than in 2020.
Regional variations alongside different mover types show a vast difference from one area to another, with First-Time Buyers paying on average just over £137,000 in the North East through to those in London paying in excess of £430,000. Despite the average property price being just over £250,000 across the UK, our data shows 85% of buyers in the North East pay less than this. FTBs in London pay 3x more than those in the North East.
First-Time Buyers’ market share dipped in 2020 (from 56% to 51%) while Upsizers, Downsizers and, to some extent, Investor market share increased. These mover types were spurred on by the potential to save on Stamp Duty as well as the desire for more space, while First-Time Buyer numbers were restricted when lenders feared a property price crash, and many required 15% or more deposits. Despite some commentary suggesting that more FTBs have been priced out of the market from the unexpected house price rises in the last 12 months, our data shows they have bounced back to the levels we would expect prior to the pandemic, currently at 55%. One reason FTBs have been able to rebound is that although prices are up, affordability due to competitive mortgage rates remains normal, with mortgage payments costing 31.1% of take-home pay.
While rising prices are a challenge for First-Time Buyers, affordability is the key and with mortgage rates remaining low and lenders becoming increasingly competitive in terms of Loan to Values and rates, there are still options for many new homebuyers.
Kindly shared by reallymoving.com
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
