First-Time Buyers Statistics

Here's a graph showing the amount of first-time buyers that took out home loans. The majority of first-time buyers take out loans to purchase their home, so it gives a good representation of how many first-time buyers enter the market annually.

Notes
Totals shown are estimates grossed up from the sample of lenders reporting to reflect total market size.

All figures from April 2005 onwards are based on Product Sales Data reported to CML. Figures pre-April 2005 are taken from the Survey of Mortgage Lenders. Prior to 1992Q2 (and annually prior to 1993) figures are taken from the Building Societies 5% sample of mortgage completions. There are material differences in both the reporting methodologies and the sample of contributing lenders for the different surveys. Figures after April 2005 are not strictly comparable with those up to that point.

Before Q2 1992 figures on loans for house purchase are for all building societies only.

Average figures shown are medians, as this tends to better represent the poisition of the typical borrower.

Interest payment calculations are net of MIRAS (and previous to this MITR) up until MIRAS was discontinued in April 2000.

Affordability calculations are based on averages of calculations for individual transactions.

Prior to April 2005, estimates of the proportion of first time buyers and movers exclude cases where the previous tenure of buyers is not known.

First time buyer numbers will include some buyers who have previously owned a property before, but are not in owner-occupation at the time of this purchase. Estimates from the Survey of English Housing suggest that that around 20% of stated first-time buyers may in fact fall into this category.