"Clearly something has got to give to rebalance the inequality between the old and young, and to address the resentment felt by those unable to get a foot on the ladder."
The average purchase price for first-time buyers rose by 5.8% on the month in September, as the number of first-time buyers entering the market rose by 3.3%.
However the number of first-time buyers in the market remains 4.2% lower than in September 2016.
As the average purchase price rises, so has the average amount paid for a deposit, soaring by 15% annually to £33,179.
Conversely, house prices across England and Wales dropped by 1.6% on the month and by 2.2% on the year.
Paul Smith, CEO of Haart, commented: “October’s robust property market means that first-time buyers are having to scrape together £11,000 more to buy their home that they were the same time last year. On top of this, our own data shows that 20 years ago the average first-time buyer mortgage was twice the average salary, now it is four times. How can we expect young people to pull together stamp duty and a deposit on top of that?
“If there was ever a time for a stamp duty break it is now. Clearly something has got to give to rebalance the inequality between the old and young, and to address the resentment felt by those unable to get a foot on the ladder. Unless the circulating rumours materialise we cannot expect transaction numbers to rise.
“However plans to rob Peter to pay Paul by placing additional tax burdens on the buy-to-let market is not the way to go about it. Our branch data shows that there were 68% fewer landlords registering to buy across the country in 2017 than there were before the stamp duty surcharge was introduced in 2015. We should be incentivising landlords not punishing them further. Another round of draconian measures will only see increased costs filtered down to the tenants – bringing us full circle and hitting those most in need – aspiring first-time buyers.”
