Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla, says that even though the share of homes bought by first-time buyers is down compared to recent years, rapidly rising rents and a lack of rental homes continues to support their desire to own their own bricks and mortar.
“In areas with cheaper house prices, first-time buyers’ mortgage repayments are lower than rental costs – even at 5.5pc mortgage rates,” he explains.
This was the case for Ms D’Emilio, who has spent four years as a tenant in northwest London. “Renting does give you flexibility, but in my case the mortgage will be lower than my current rent and makes more sense financially, despite the higher interest rates.”
Croydon – where flats sell for an average of £289,422, according to Rightmove, far less than other more central parts of London – is one of 22 local authorities that are attracting so many first-time buyers that they now outnumber movers, according to exclusive new research from Hamptons estate agency.
Back in 2019, before the Covid pandemic, first-time buyers outnumbered movers in only four local authorities, all of which were in London.
As well as its lower comparative house prices, one of the reasons Ms D’Emilio chose Croydon was for the suburb’s convenient transport links – she can get the train into central London or Gatwick airport in less than 15 minutes.
“Being well-connected is a must for me as I travel a lot,” she says. Croydon is also known for its shops, as a growing financial centre and is this year’s London borough of culture.
Today, the capital is still the first-time buyer hotspot, with eight areas in which the number of first-time buyer applicants are outnumbering movers. Like Croydon, most are in cheaper parts of the city and include Barking and Dagenham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Leafy Greenwich, in the southeast, tops the table – for every mover searching for a home here, there are almost four first-timers also looking to buy.
Other English cities are also drawing in more would-be homeowners. In Leeds, 1.73 first-time buyers are looking to purchase for every mover, while first-time would-be homeowners also dominate in Coventry and Birmingham.
