The number of first-time buyers is believed to have reached 359,000 in 2017, whilst those taking their first step on to the property ladder are putting down almost double the deposit than a decade ago, according to the latest Halifax First-Time Buyer Review.

The number of first-time buyers has gone up 6% in the last 12 months, continuing an upward trend of six years. This is despite the average deposit increasing from £17,740 in 2007 to £33,339 a decade later – an increase of 91%. Halifax data revealed that although the average price of a typical first home has grown by 21% (or £37,377) from £174,703 to £212,079, first-time buyer levels have now almost returned to those last seen in 2007, when 359,900 took their first step on to the property ladder. This is an increase of 87% compared to an all-time low of 192,300 in 2008 and is now just 11% below the most recent peak of 402,800 in 2006.

First-time buyers now account for half of all house purchases with a mortgage, an increase from 36% a decade ago.  The average age of a first-time buyer in 2017 was 31– two years older than a decade ago. In London it has grown from 31 to 33 –the eldest in the UK. The biggest increase in age was in Northern Ireland, up by three years from 28 to 31. At a Local Authority District level, the youngest buyers are in Staffordshire Moorlands with an average age of 28 whilst the oldest are in Richmond upon Thames at 35 years old.

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