First-time buyer property prices rose to record highs in April and have led the way in the recovering housing market, according to real estate website Rightmove.
First-time homes - with fewer than two bedrooms - hit an average of £224,963 in April, Rightmove noted, leading the way as the housing market eyes a return to more stable pre-pandemic levels of trading.
Agreed sales of first-time properties sat 4% higher in April 2023 than in March 2019, though transactions for second-step and top-of-the-ladder homes remained 4% and 3% lower respectively.
Across the market, average asking prices rose just 0.2%, or £890, between March and April this year, “as new sellers heed their agents’ advice to price cautiously and tempt Spring buyers,” Rightmove explained.
Looking ahead, Rightmove property science director Tim Bannister said: “The current unexpectedly stable conditions may tempt more sellers to enter the market.
“Buyers may have struggled to find a home that suited their needs in the stock-constrained market of recent years and will now find more choice available.”