First-time buyer activity grew strongly in March as they fought back against property investors.
Total first-time buyer transactions 32,500, the highest monthly total since June 2014.
This marks a rise of almost 50% on February’s first-time buyer total, which stood at 22,000.
It means an extra 10,500 buyers set foot on the ladder for the first time last month, according to the latest First-Time Buyer Tracker from Your Move & Reeds Rains.
Year-on-year the total number of first-time buyers grew by more than a third, up 8,400 on March 2015’s figure of 24,100.
Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “A flurry of first-timers illustrates a property market progressing at a powerful pace.
“Much was made of March being the month of the buy-to-let landlord and the second-home owner.
“To an extent that was true – but it’s now clear none of that interest was at the expense of the bottom rungs of the ladder.
“Would-be first-time buyers are clamouring to own their own home, and we are seeing a sustained surge in demand for suitable homes this spring.”
Gill said first-time buyers had been helped by the range of support options such as the Help to Buy scheme.
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